Sponsors looking for clinical trial volunteers are better off heading south rather than east. Using systematic review and meta-analysis of data on people's willingness to participate in clinical trials, researchers find that Brazilians are more likely than Indians to volunteer.
The researchers, from Duke University and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná in Brazil, looked first at Brazilian patients and included five studies in the SRMA. They then compared via an experimental system dynamics model the meta-analysis results from Brazilian patients with those of another SRMA they had conducted on Indian patients.
Their findings, which they say need to be validated, show fewer barriers to participation in Brazil than in India.
Altruism drives Brazilians' participation in 55 percent of Brazilians studied, versus 43 percent of Indians. In India, nearly half of patients cite personal health benefits as their reason for participating, compared with 29 percent of Brazilians, who enjoy a universal healthcare system.
Nearly one-third of Indian patients cite financial reimbursement as a motivator, versus six percent of Brazilians.
Fear of side effects is the top barrier for both groups, the researchers find. It affects 27 percent of Indian respondents and 12 percent of Brazilians. Mistrust is the second biggest barrier in India, cited by 26 percent of patients, versus 6 percent of Brazilians.
- here's the paper