Korean J Clin Pharm.  2022 Sep;32(3):166-177. 10.24304/kjcp.2022.32.3.166.

The Effect of Regulation on Recruitment Advertising for Clinical Trial Subjects in Korea

• Kim HJ
• Sohn HS

• KMID: 2533896
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24304/kjcp.2022.32.3.166

Abstract

Background
Recently clinical trials have expanded extensively in Korea; thus, ensuring the rights of subjects participating in clinical trials is imperative. Accordingly, national regulations on subject recruitment advertisement were enforced from October 25, 2018. In this study, the effect of this regulation was evaluated by analyzing the difference in the provision of information before and after enforcement of the regulation.
Methods
Recruitment advertisements for clinical trial subjects 3 years before and after enforcement of the regulation were collated by the significance sampling approach. Print-based (newspapers, buses, and subways) and web-based (clinical trial center websites and online platforms) materials for recruitment in clinical trials of phase 1 to 4 for investigational drugs, medical devices, and oriental medicine were considered. Chi-square tests were conducted for inter-group comparisons. SPSS version 26 was employed for statistical analyses.
Results
A total of 137 advertisements were collected comprising 60 pre- and 77 post-regulation enforcement. The overall rate of delivery of critical information in advertisements increased significantly from 47.5% before regulation to 93.2% after regulation enforcement. Particularly, details on expected adverse events augmented significantly (p<0.001). Benefits from participation in clinical trial reduced significantly from 88.3% to 70.1% (p<0.05). As the information provision amplified, the inclusion of professional terms increased.
Conclusions
Enforcement of regulations has led to a surge in the amount of information and challenging terms contained in advertisements for recruiting subjects. Therefore, additional efforts are required by subjects to completely understand the information provided in the advertisements.

Keyword

Research subject recruitment; clinical trials; regulation; advertisements