NEW ORLEANS—With artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies dominating the news cycle, it’s no wonder physicians have explored how these groundbreaking innovations may apply to clinical medicine and research. At the 2023 Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium, in a presentation titled Using Technology to Engage Patients in Research, Jonathan Hausmann, MD, assistant professor of medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, addressed this topic in detail, providing useful tips to researchers across many areas of rheumatology.
Diversity
Dr. Hausmann
First, Dr. Hausmann summarized why patient engagement is important when conducting research. Research studies may involve invasive and/or time-consuming procedures that may dissuade some patients from participating unless they feel they are contributing to a greater good. Additionally, barriers to patient participation in studies, such as geography and socioeconomic status, often exist. Researchers need to mitigate these barriers to recruit diverse participant groups. The enrollment of heterogeneous populations that represent the full spectrum of patients with a given disease helps minimize bias in studies, making results more generalizable. Dr. Hausmann also explained that an aim of research is to ensure the knowledge produced from a study is relevant to patient needs and reflects the true patient experience. Patient engagement is critical to this aspect.
