An Electronic Information Kiosk for Enhancing Patient Accrual for Cancer Clinical Trials: A Pilot and Feasibility Study

Introduction Low accrual to clinical trials for solid tumors at our institution led to a review of possible modifiable factors within our control. This led to a pilot project to determine whether improved patient awareness could alter accrual rates to active trials. Methods An information kiosk was located at the patient library on the ground floor of the London Regional Cancer Program. Adult cancer patients were invited to learn more about clinical trials from our research navigator, including specific trials open in our center, and to participate in the study, which involved a brief satisfaction and demographics survey. Results Three hundred and eighty-six (386) patients interacted with the clinical trial information kiosk over the eight weeks it was open. Of these, 32 patients consented and filled out surveys, which indicated an overall positive interaction with the kiosk. Unfortunately, in the time period examined, clinical trial accrual rates appeared to decrease when the pre- and post-kiosk activation periods were compared (44 versus 37 patients accrued to various trials). Conclusion Our pilot study found that the implementation of a clinical trial information kiosk was easy to understand and useful for patients to learn more about clinical trials. Barriers to this patient satisfaction translating into increased accrual rates in our center included suboptimal kiosk location and lack of guidance to the kiosk from clerical staff. High patient satisfaction scores support the potential value of permanent clinical trial information kiosks in our cancer center, but this requires increased attention to visibility, location, and staff education.