Effectiveness of Online Education for Recruitment to an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Clinical Trial

For this study, 10,450 participants enrolled in an initial cohort study were asked to complete a six-lesson interactive education course, AlzU.org, about Alzheimer’s disease. Participants in the highest lesson completion group demonstrated the greatest screening rates for the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (A4) trial. In a subsequent randomized-controlled trial, 351 new participants were enrolled in the six-lesson course (n = 180) versus a time-neutral control course focused on Alzheimer’s disease information that would not be expected to change perceptions about Alzheimer’s clinical trials or other behaviors (n=171). After six months, 2.78% of the intervention group screened for the A4 trial compared to 0% of controls. The authors conclude that online education may serve as an effective strategy to supplement clinical trial recruitment.

Saif N, Berkowitz C, Tripathi S, et al. Effectiveness of online education for recruitment to an Alzheimer's disease prevention clinical trial. Alzheimer's & Dementia 2020;6(1):e12006.