ABSTRACT
This Viewpoint discusses the proliferation of decentralized clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for rigorous studies to inform whether decentralized approaches promote or prevent access to clinical trials for people facing health disparities.
Subject(s)
Clinical Trials as Topic , Health Equity , Humans , Healthcare Disparities , Pandemics , Clinical Trials as Topic/methods , Clinical Trials as Topic/organization & administrationABSTRACT
Clinical trials represent an essential component of improving treatment for substance use disorders (SUD). The SARS coronavirus-2 pandemic disrupted our ongoing clinical trial of smoking cessation and forced us to rapidly implement changes to assure participants access to ongoing counseling and monitoring via telephone calls and/or video chat sessions. Our experiences suggest that this pandemic will lead to changes for both future clinical trial participants and project staff. While challenges remain, it will be important to assessing the impact of these changes with regard to participant experiences and treatment outcomes.