Chronic pain research studies are important for both finding new treatments and improving existing treatments for individuals with chronic pain. For clinical trials to be effective, participants need to be engaged and willing to participate in treatment groups. Our research applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand how attitudes, perceived social norms, and perceived control over intervention engagement are associated with willingness to participate in interventions for chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Adult Michigan Medicine patients were identified using electronic medical records and emailed a link to an online, cross-sectional survey. Participants who self-reported CLBP, ability to read and write in English, and consented to participate were able to complete the survey (N = 405).

The results showed more positive attitudes, positive social norms, and higher perceived behavioral control related to specific chronic low back pain interventions are associated with greater willingness to participate after controlling for demographic and pain-related characteristics.

The findings suggest that TPB constructs may be useful in guiding recruitment efforts for chronic pain intervention trials.

Interest in psilocybin as a treatment for depression has risen over the past decade, fuelled by promising clinical trials and a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Media coverage plays a critical role in shaping public perceptions, yet little is known about how psilocybin is portrayed in global anglophone online news for the treatment of depression.

This study examines the comprehensiveness and sentiment of English-language online news articles (n = 125) discussing psilocybin as a treatment for depression from January 2000 to May 2024. Articles were sourced from the top 30 global anglophone news outlets, assessed using a 13-item instrument for comprehensiveness, and analysed for sentiment across five thematic categories. A separate sub-analysis was completed for Irish media.

Findings indicate a significant increase in coverage over time, with 43.2% of articles published between 2022 and 2024, predominantly from the USA (68%). While 90.4% of articles cited researchers, fewer addressed risks (47.2%), long-term evidence (46.4%), or patient perspectives (25%). Sentiment analysis revealed a very positive sentiment across articles which was 2.27 on a scale from −5 (most negative) to + 5 (most positive) (SD 1.33), with no significant changes over the time period. Reporting on psilocybin’s onset and duration of effects increased significantly, reflecting growing clinical evidence. However, coverage remains concentrated in prominent outlets, with limited attention to patient experiences and long-term safety.

These findings highlight the media’s role in shaping discourse on emerging treatments and suggest a need for more balanced reporting to align public understanding with scientific evidence. This study provides a foundation for future research on media portrayals of psilocybin and implications for public perception and policy.

Trust in biomedical research is essential, multidimensional, and shaped by individual experiences, culture, and communication. Participants’ trust relies on researchers’ commitment to ethical practices. As public trust in science declines due to misinformation and disinformation campaigns, biomedical researchers (BmRs) must ensure trust and cultivate trustworthiness. This study explores BmR’s perspectives on trust and trustworthiness.

We employed a qualitative, phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of BmRs. Through purposive sampling via the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, we invited BmRs to participate in semi-structured interviews. We employed rapid qualitative analysis (RQA) to identify key themes from interviews with BmRs. This action-oriented approach enables a research team to efficiently summarize experiences and perspectives, using structured templates and matrixes for systematic analysis and interpretation.

Fourteen BmRs were interviewed. Volunteer demographics were collected for race/ethnicity, gender, faculty rank, and investigator experience level. The following domains were identified: individual trust and trustworthiness, institutional trustworthiness, and trust and equity as a crucial part of structural and social drivers of health.

We recognize that BmRs are dedicated to health equity and addressing disparities. However, in addition to committing to “best practices,” BmRs should prioritize actions that foster genuine trust from the communities they serve. More development opportunities are needed for reflection of what it means to be trusted by research volunteers and communities. Furthermore, intentions alone aren’t sufficient; earned trust and trustworthiness are vital.

Historically US-based academic organizations dedicated limited resources, including policies, personnel to ensuring compliance with clinical trials registration and results reporting requirements. A recent follow-up survey finds that 6-years after an initial survey, there is increased attention and dedication of resources to improve compliance rates for clinical trials registration and results reporting.

Internet-based online survey using Qualtrics between 20 April 2023 and 30 September 2023 distributed to Protocol Registration and Results Reporting (PRS) Administrators at US-based academic organizations with ClinicalTrials.gov organizational accounts. The survey focused on the 249 respondents of the original 2016–2017 survey published in 2018. The overall response rate was 162/249 (65.06%) with 100% participation from National Cancer Center (NCI) Designated Cancer Centers and hubs of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA).

Results indicated a marked increase of academic organizations with policies in place for registration (43 to 74%) and results reporting (35 to 68%). The median number of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) staff at responding academic organizations increased (from 0.08 to 0.5) with statistically significant difference between the number of organizational records and FTEs supporting registration and results reporting. Larger gains are seen with NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and/or CTSA hubs.

It appears academic organizations are more equipped to comply with requirements, and demonstrate a trend towards appropriate staffing. In the 6 years since the original survey, US-based academic organizations have significantly increased attention to compliance with clinical trials registration and results reporting requirements, indicated by an increase in institutional policies and dedicated personnel.

Travel distance is a key barrier for patients to participate in clinical trials or receive cancer care. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is a major funder of cancer research infrastructure through grant programs like the NCI Cancer Center (NCICC) and NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP); however, the majority of US sites that care for people with cancer do not directly receive this funding.

Through geospatial analysis we examined patient distance to NCI-funded sites and evaluated demographic subgroups to identify potential disparities in access to research opportunities. We assessed whether new NCI support to previously unfunded sites could address identified barriers in access.

NCI-funded sites tend to be in urban centers and are less accessible to low-income or rural patients. Nearly 17% of the US population over 35 years old would have to drive over 100 miles to obtain care at an NCI-funded site; only 1.6% would be beyond that distance when non-funded sites are added. For those below poverty level, the proportions are 20.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Several US regions, including the South and Appalachia, have particularly limited access to NCI-funded sites despite high cancer incidence, and much of the West and Great Plains are distant from any cancer facilities.

NCI could address travel distance as a major barrier to research participation by expanding the geographical footprint of its infrastructure funding using existing institutions in areas with identified gaps. Geospatial analysis at the census tract level is recommended and geospatial visualization can help identify strategic areas for interventions.

Effective recruitment techniques are essential for researchers to recruit and retain potential participants in studies, particularly as recruitment numbers into clinical trials have decreased. While recruitment techniques have been investigated, there is a gap in understanding the perspectives of clinical trials recruiters. This paper examines recruiters’ usage and perceived effectiveness of various recruitment techniques, as well as their perspectives on related ethical issues.

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 381 clinical trials recruiters. Closed-ended items examined whether recruiters had used 31 pre-defined recruitment techniques and their perceptions of the effectiveness of each technique. For techniques perceived to be highly effective or ineffective, open-ended items examined recruiter reasoning. The multiple methods analysis integrated the closed-ended and open-ended data.

Recruitment techniques such as reassured potential participants about confidentiality (96.3%) and reassured about data sharing (95.8%) had high usage, while techniques like having the PI approach and enroll had a high average perceived effectiveness (M = 4.23, SD = 0.91). Recruiters often rated techniques as more highly effective when they had prior experience using them. They also identified concerns about professionalism, ethics, and transparency in standard practice recruitment techniques.

Our findings indicate that there is significant variation in the usage of clinical trial recruitment techniques and how different recruiters view the effectiveness of each technique. The unique perspectives of those who recruit into clinical trials can help inform future decisions regarding which recruitment techniques to utilize, along with how and when to use particular recruitment techniques in an ethical manner.