BACKGROUND
Low retention and compliance increase clinical trial costs and timelines. Burdens associated with participating in a clinical trial contribute to early study termination. Electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROs) reduce participant burden by allowing remote participation, and facilitate communication between researchers and participants. The Datacubed Health (DCH) mobile application is unique among ePRO platforms in its application of behavioral science principles (reward, motivation, identity, etc.) in clinical trials to promote compliance, retention and engagement.
OBJECTIVE
To test the impact of differences in user experience and design of electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO) platforms on retention and compliance in longitudinal research studies.
METHODS
284 adult participants were randomly assigned to complete 24 weekly surveys via 1 of 4 modalities (DCH App vs. DCH Website vs. Third-Party Website vs. Paper) in a virtual, siteless longitudinal study. We expected the DCH App group to stay in the study longer (increased retention) and complete more surveys while in the study (increased compliance).
RESULTS
The DCH App and Third-Party Website groups had higher retention than participants in the DCH Website or Paper groups (p<0.001). Any ePRO platform had higher retention than the Paper group (p<0.0001). The DCH App group had higher compliance with weekly survey completion than the Third-Party Website group (p<0.001). All ePRO platforms had higher compliance than the Paper group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Using an ePRO platform in a longitudinal study increases retention and compliance in comparison to paper instruments. ePRO platforms that are easy for participants to access increase retention. Incorporating behavioral science design elements in an ePRO platform results in increased compliance in a longitudinal study.