“How is everybody doing?”

It was a simple question from one of Sesame Street’s most beloved residents, but when Elmo tweeted out a casual wellness check earlier this year the answer was pretty clear—some of us are not doing okay, Elmo.

The World Health Organization estimates that one out of eight people around the world (or nearly 970 million people) are affected by mental disorders. Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common, and that number rose significantly in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial estimates show a 26% and 28% increase, respectively, for anxiety and major depressive disorders in just one year.

Children aren’t immune either. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) either currently, or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.

But there’s hope and the clinical research community has the opportunity to lead from the front. From recruitment companies introducing patients to communities with shared experiences to trial sponsors structuring studies in new, more patient-centric ways… everyone has a part to play.

How to positively impact mental health in your everyday life

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act as we journey through life. It also helps determine how we handle stress and relate to others. Even small changes in our everyday lives make big impacts on our mental health.

  • Take care of your physical health: Your physical and mental health are connected, so taking care of your body helps you take care of your mind. Regular exercise can reduce feelings of stress and depression. Getting enough sleep every night can prevent depression. Good nutrition can improve your mood and decrease anxiety. Also, not having enough of certain nutrients may contribute to some mental illnesses.
  • Connect with others: No one is an island. It’s important to have strong relationships. A strong social support network can protect you against unnecessary stress. In addition to friends and family, find ways to get involved with your neighborhood by volunteering around your community.
  • Prioritize relaxation: Did you know that you can invoke your body’s natural relaxation response? Give yourself five minutes. Close your eyes. Take slow, deep breaths. Tighten and then relax different muscle groups. This can help lower your blood pressure and reduce muscle tension and stress, giving you a head start on an improved mental health outlook.

“You are not alone”

Patient recruitment for clinical trials is challenging. But patient recruitment for clinical trials surrounding mental health issues is even more so. Individuals may not self-identify with terms such as “depressed” or “anxious” due to stigma or lack of knowledge. If you’re engaging with patients on the front end of the clinical research cycle, you need to be proactively addressing these barriers with hopeful imagery, relevant messaging, and a straightforward enrollment process.

Take a look at some of the digital ad concepts we used to recruit patients for a recent post-partum depression study sponsored by Reunion Neuroscience. The colorful designs are intended to be scroll-stoppers for our target audience. The messaging reinforces to new moms who may be experiencing mental health struggles that they aren’t bad moms, they aren’t alone, and that help is available for them.

The landing page is easy to navigate, optimized for mobile viewing, takes minutes to fill out, and doesn’t overwhelm new moms with a lot of unnecessary information.

Lastly, we partnered directly with site staff teams to troubleshoot any problems and share best practices in follow-up communications. As a result, we were able to increase the speed to connect with patients, adjust inflow based on site capacity, and maximize enrollment conversion rates—all leading to a successful recruitment process.

The role of technology in supporting patients and advancing mental health research

The rise of decentralized clinical trials has been extremely helpful in both protecting and achieving better mental health. And it’s one of the reasons we’ve made decentralized clinical trial recruitment a priority from Day 1 as a company.

When a clinical trial is structured in a way that maximizes flexibility and reduces (or eliminates!) unnecessary travel, you reduce the mental and physical burdens on individual patients. You make it easier to enroll. Clinical activities can be conducted in a participant’s home, a nearby healthcare facility, or a neighborhood hospital. That’s often been the difference between a patient struggling with mental health enrolling in a study that can improve their quality of life… or not.

Serving all patients, not just the ones who qualify for a clinical study

But 1nHealth is a digital patient recruitment company. Our mission is to fill clinical trials quickly and effectively, not develop or conduct the study ourselves. So, how can we serve patients who don’t qualify for an open study that we’re working on, regardless of how decentralized it is? Patients who submit their information in prescreening are clearly looking for help. We want to be a resource for them even if that specific trial cannot be the solution.

Enter… The Mighty.

The Mighty is a growing community of people with lived experience sharing their honest stories. We teamed up with The Mighty last year to route patients who may not qualify for a specific trial to condition-focused communities on their platform to find direct support, read testimonies that helped them feel connected, and journey alongside those with similar health journeys.

When patients hear about potentially life-changing therapies and then can’t participate, that’s a blow. Now they’re directed to communities of people on The Mighty that identify with their struggle. That deep representation and community is powerful.

1nHealth: Filling clinical trials faster with digital patient recruitment

At 1nHealth, our digital recruitment is designed with the patient in mind, addressing common misconceptions and providing participants with all the information they need to make an informed decision. Our mission is to advance human health by filling up research studies faster than anyone thought possible, while being great humans to clients, to each other, and to patients around the world.

Ready to learn more about how we can help you fill your next clinical trial? Click here for a free consultation today!

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