{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T14:32:29Z","timestamp":1787841149241,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>In an evolving healthcare ecosystem, it can be challenging to consistently deliver the most effective and efficient care. Design thinking can be an enabler to improve clinical outcomes in healthcare by potentially benefitting the design of new health products, processes, and devices. Clinical trials are vital for enhancing medical knowledge and development of new therapies. However, one of the most persistent challenges faced by sponsors and researchers is the process of patient recruitment in clinical trials. Effective recruitment strategies are crucial for the success of clinical trials, as inadequate enrollment can lead to delays, increased costs, and trial abandonment. Despite decades of efforts to address this issue, the struggle to find eligible patients, high screen failure rates, and competing sites for the same patient pool continue to plague the industry. Patient-centric activities to streamline study recruitment and enroll diverse patient populations have been explored. However, the outcomes of these initiatives have not been as expected, highlighting the need to explore these innovations further. Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and iterative testing. We feel it can offer novel insights into patients\u2019 needs and behaviors, leading to more engaging and effective recruitment strategies. This article explores the potential of design thinking as a transformative approach to tackle the challenge of patient recruitment in clinical trials, by examining its principles, processes, and benefits. Through this article, we aim to enable sponsors, patients, sites, and contract research organizations (CROs), to enhance enrollment in clinical trials by humanizing the patient trial experience.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4103\/picr.picr_38_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T14:00:25Z","timestamp":1758204025000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Revolutionizing patient recruitment experience in trials using the design-thinking framework"],"prefix":"10.4103","author":[{"given":"Shilpa","family":"Patkar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"General Medicines, Chief Patient Officer (CPO) Organization, GlaxoSmithKline, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeroze","family":"Dalal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Medicines, Chief Patient Officer (CPO) Organization, GlaxoSmithKline, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cct.2018.01.003","article-title":"Clinical trials recruitment planning: A proposed framework from the clinical trials transformation initiative","volume":"66","author":"Huang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Contemp Clin Trials"},{"key":"R2-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e22810","DOI":"10.2196\/22810","article-title":"The role of social media in enhancing clinical trial recruitment: Scoping review","volume":"22","author":"Darmawan","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"R3-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e22179","DOI":"10.2196\/22179","article-title":"Online patient recruitment in clinical trials: Systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"22","author":"Br\u00f8gger-Mikkelsen","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"R4-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"869","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jval.2016.04.009","article-title":"Increasing patient involvement in drug development","volume":"19","author":"Lowe","year":"2016","journal-title":"Value Health"},{"key":"R6-20250918","first-page":"66","article-title":"\u201cDesign thinking comes of age\u201d","volume":"93","author":"Kolko","year":"2015","journal-title":"Harv Bus Rev"},{"key":"R7-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.hjdsi.2015.12.002","article-title":"A design thinking framework for healthcare management and innovation","volume":"4","author":"Roberts","year":"2016","journal-title":"Healthc (Amst)"},{"key":"R8-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1038\/s41746-018-0034-4","article-title":"Training for our digital future: A human-centered design approach to graduate medical education for aspiring clinician-innovators","volume":"1","author":"Carter","year":"2018","journal-title":"NPJ Digit Med"},{"key":"R9-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"491","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjinnov-2020-000428","article-title":"Design thinking as an approach for innovation in healthcare: Systematic review and research avenues","volume":"7","author":"Oliveira","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Innov"},{"key":"R10-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1111\/jpim.12466","article-title":"Beverland MB. Doing Design Thinking: Conceptual Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda","volume":"36","author":"Micheli","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Prod Innov Manag"},{"key":"R11-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"844","DOI":"10.1186\/s13063-021-05818-0","article-title":"Exploring reasons for recruitment failure in clinical trials: A qualitative study with clinical trial stakeholders in Switzerland, Germany, and Canada","volume":"22","author":"Briel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trials"},{"key":"R12-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e083239","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2023-083239","article-title":"Evaluating the impact of a SIMPlified LaYered consent process on recruitment of potential participants to the Staphylococcus aureus network adaptive platform trial: Study protocol for a multicentre pragmatic nested randomised clinical trial (SIMPLY-SNAP trial)","volume":"14","author":"Ong","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"R13-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"726","DOI":"10.1177\/0272989X16636844","article-title":"A patient-centered approach to informed consent: Results from a survey and randomized trial","volume":"36","author":"Krishnamurti","year":"2016","journal-title":"Med Decis Making"},{"key":"R14-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"478","DOI":"10.1186\/s13063-020-04358-3","article-title":"Digital tools for the recruitment and retention of participants in randomised controlled trials: A systematic map","volume":"21","author":"Frampton","year":"2020","journal-title":"Trials"},{"key":"R15-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1568","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mayocp.2022.10.001","article-title":"The digitization and decentralization of clinical trials","volume":"98","author":"Harmon","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mayo Clin Proc"},{"key":"R16-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1875","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mayocp.2023.05.003","article-title":"Health disparities, clinical trials, and the digital divide","volume":"98","author":"Adedinsewo","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mayo Clin Proc"},{"key":"R17-20250918","first-page":"66","article-title":"\u2018Design Thinking Comes of Age\u2019","author":"Kolko","year":"2015","journal-title":"Harv Bus Rev"},{"key":"R19-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1200\/EDBK_243729","article-title":"Overcoming barriers to clinical trial enrollment","volume":"39","author":"Nipp","year":"2019","journal-title":"Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book"},{"key":"R20-20250918","article-title":"Factors Promoting or Preventing Caregivers from Allowing Pediatric Participation in Research","volume":"11","author":"Fern\u00e1ndez","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Appl Res Child Inf Policy Child Risk"},{"key":"R21-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"325","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1099-1166(200004)15:4<325::AID-GPS117>3.0.CO;2-9","article-title":"Demented patients'participation in a clinical trial: Factors affecting the caregivers'decision","volume":"15","author":"Elad","year":"2000","journal-title":"Int J Geriatr Psychiatry"},{"key":"R22-20250918","first-page":"1","article-title":"Increasing inclusiveness of patient-centric clinical evidence generation in oncology: Real-world data and clinical trials","volume":"42","author":"Benbow","year":"2022","journal-title":"Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book"},{"key":"R23-20250918","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100399","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conctc.2019.100399","article-title":"Patient preferences for using mobile technologies in clinical trials","volume":"15","author":"Perry","year":"2019","journal-title":"Contemp Clin Trials Commun"}],"container-title":["Perspectives in Clinical Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/picr.picr_38_25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T13:43:29Z","timestamp":1787838209000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/picr.picr_38_25"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]},"references-count":21,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4103\/picr.picr_38_25","relation":{},"ISSN":["2229-3485","2229-5488"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2229-3485","type":"print"},{"value":"2229-5488","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]}}}