Aim: To determine rural cancer patient attitudes toward clinical trials, including the Australian Teletrial Model (ATM)
Methods: Patients being recruited onto a clinical trial in Western NSW Local Health District were approached to participate in a 23-item questionnaire, regarding different aspects of participation in clinical trials. Patients were also invited to provide suggestions for improvement.
Results: Surveys were given out to consecutive patients enrolled into a clinical trial in the Western NSW Local Health District over a period of 9 months. 37 valid questionnaires were returned. Median age was 66 (range: 33-84). Just under one half of patients took greater than one hour to travel to the trials centre, with 10% needing to travel for longer than three hours. The majority of patients (87%) had not previously participated in a clinical trial but all patients were happy to be approached about enrolling onto a clinical trial. Of patients who participated in the ATM, 22% patients stated that being offered a teletrial would be make them more likely to participate, 33% said it would make no difference with their decision to enrol and 44% uncertain of the impact of this model on their decision to participate or not. Not having the principal investigator residing in their town was not considered a safety concern by 94% of the participants. When asked if they would travel to a metropolitan centre for a placebo-controlled study, only 20% of patients indicated that they would definitely go, 40% indicated that they definitely would not and 40% were uncertain.
Conclusions: Rural cancer patients were overwhelmingly satisfied in participating in a clinical trial locally through a regional cancer centre or through the ATM. More research is needed into reducing barriers for rural cancer patients to enrol onto clinical trials, including the role of the teletrials.