As nominations open for the 2023 cohort of the Duke Engagement, Recruitment, and Retention (ER&R) certificate program, institutions across the United States are requesting access to the plan and materials.
The Duke Office of Clinical Research (DOCR) and the CTSI Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC) are inviting Duke managers to consider nominating any clinical research professionals who perform participant engagement, recruitment, and retention activities. The nomination period ends on Jan. 18, 2023. The next cohort will take place from February-August 2023.
The ER&R program website includes course descriptions, time commitment, and a tentative schedule. Program participants complete six core sessions and three electives chosen from numerous options, with a focus on building competency in inclusive and equitable recruitment and retention of clinical research participants. Participants attend no more than two sessions per month.
Since the program launched in September 2020, 132 attendees in four cohorts have completed the training. The program offers 13 blended courses with online pre-learning, live interactive sessions, and post-class discussion prompts. Partnerships with Durham Tech, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina, and Wake Forest University have allowed program attendance and auditing.
The program is now licensed through the Duke Office of Translation and Commercialization, and other institutions can request access to the materials repository and program implementation plan. Since October, nine institutions across the country have requested access, with several planning to implement similar programs based on Duke’s blueprint.
Stephanie A. Freel, PhD, PMP, Director of DOCR Clinical Research Education and Outreach, credited Jamie Roberts, MPH, MA, CCRP, Research Practice Manager at Duke Cancer Institute, with the original vision for the program and thanked Jessica Cranfill, DOCR Education and Outreach Manager, for managing the program, including licensing and requests.
“We are excited about the growing interest in this program. Our steering committee has done a wonderful job bringing Jamie’s vision to life, with Dr. Nadine Barrett’s Just Ask: Equity and Diversity in Clinical Research as our cornerstone,” Freel said. “Jessica has worked tirelessly to establish and grow the program, which could not have happened without the time and support from course presenters who came from all corners of the CTSA cores.”
The manuscript published in August in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science details implementation of the program at Duke, and the program plan and materials repository were added to the Trial Innovation Network (TIN) Toolbox in November.
“This program has turned into far more than I could have ever hoped and has generated significant interest across the CTSA consortium,” Roberts said. “I am deeply grateful to DOCR and the Participant and Clinical Interactions team for support and help in turning a simple list of ideas — developed over years of observing the challenges study teams face when trying to engage participants — into a robust education program.”
The momentum behind this novel program continues to grow. Looking ahead, in addition to the fifth cohort, Freel and Roberts will present a TIN Collaboration Webinar in February 2023, and multiple institutions plan to audit the program or pilot their own in the coming years.
Clinical research professionals who complete the program receive a Duke Engagement, Recruitment, and Retention certificate that they can use to boost PEP development accomplishments and tier advancement applications. The ER&R program is supported in part by the Clinical and Translational Science Award (NIH Award UL1TR002553) and is jointly run by the Participant and Clinical Interactions Core through DOCR and the RIC.