New funding program targets rural recruitment through technology
The Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research announced a new funding program aimed at helping researchers recruit study participants in rural areas.
The Rural Pilots Voucher Program offers VCU researchers and investigators at partner institutions the opportunity to apply for a voucher to offset costs related to innovative digital health methods for participant engagement and recruitment in hard-to-reach patient populations. That includes potential participants in rural areas and in groups that have been historically underrepresented in clinical research.
“Clinical research studies need to reflect the diversity of the population that we hope to serve with the results,” said Antonio Abbate, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Wright Center and co-lead for the new program. “This program will help researchers recruit the people that clinical trials need the most.”
The program, a partnership with VCU Health, funds up to $25,000 in services. Researchers can apply for resources like devices, equipment and technologies needed for telehealth visits in remote locations, access to wireless data platforms for monitoring health outcomes for research participants, advertisement materials for hard-to-reach and rural populations, and more.
“The pandemic really confirmed the need for innovation in the digital health sphere,” said Mary Harmon, Ph.D., director of clinical research at VCU Health and the program’s other co-lead. “And that’s especially true for clinical trials. We’re looking forward to seeing how researchers get creative with technologies and telehealth to push research recruitment forward.”
The funded projects will use services within the VCU Health System, including the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill, VA, the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, the Brook Road Campus in Richmond, VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital and ambulatory care facilities throughout Virginia.
Applications will be received on a continuous basis. Find more information about the program and the application link at its website.
