One of the things that I’ve seen help encourage participants to stay on a trial is the friendliness, respect, and helpfulness of the people they deal with.

Not much of a revelation here, of course, but perhaps we do sometimes forget that we’re working in a people industry, not just a medical one. And what people want is to be treated like a person, not just as a representative of the particular condition or conditions they may be living with.

Which means that everyone who has a ‘people-facing’ role – including frontline staff at research sites, nurses, study co-ordinators, principal investigators, receptionists etc. – should ensure they behave toward the trial participants as they would wish people to behave toward themself.

If you’re not friendly to a customer in a shop, they will likely go elsewhere. If you’re not friendly to a trial participant, they will likely drop out of the trial.