Using the Internet to search for cancer clinical trials: A comparative audit of clinical trial search tools.

@article{citeulike:2565204, abstract = {Advancing the clinical trial research process to improve cancer treatment necessitates helping people with cancer identify and enroll in studies, and researchers are using the power of the Internet to facilitate this process. This study used a content analysis of online cancer clinical trial search tools to understand what people with cancer might encounter. The content analysis revealed that clinical trial search tools were easy to identify using a popular search engine, but their functionality and content varied greatly. Most required that users be fairly knowledgeable about their medical condition and sophisticated in their web navigation skills. The ability to search by a specific health condition or type of cancer was the most common search strategy. The more complex tools required that users input detailed information about their personal medical history and have knowledge of specific clinical trial terminology. Search tools, however, only occasionally advised users to consult their doctors regarding clinical trial decision-making. This, along with the complexity of the tools suggests that online search tools may not adequately facilitate the clinical trial recruitment process. Findings from this analysis can be used as a framework from which to systematically examine actual consumer experience with online clinical trial search tools.}, address = {Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.}, author = {Atkinson, Nancy L L. and Saperstein, Sandra L L. and Massett, Holly A A. and Leonard, Colleen Ryan R. and Grama, Lakshmi and Manrow, Rick }, citeulike-article-id = {2565204}, doi = {10.1016/j.cct.2008.01.007}, issn = {1551-7144}, journal = {Contemp Clin Trials}, keywords = {clinical, trials}, month = {February}, posted-at = {2008-03-20 08:29:34}, priority = {5}, title = {Using the Internet to search for cancer clinical trials: A comparative audit of clinical trial search tools.}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2008.01.007}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2565204 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2565204 TI - Using the Internet to search for cancer clinical trials: A comparative audit of clinical trial search tools. JF - Contemp Clin Trials AD - Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. SN - 1551-7144 N2 - Advancing the clinical trial research process to improve cancer treatment necessitates helping people with cancer identify and enroll in studies, and researchers are using the power of the Internet to facilitate this process. This study used a content analysis of online cancer clinical trial search tools to understand what people with cancer might encounter. The content analysis revealed that clinical trial search tools were easy to identify using a popular search engine, but their functionality and content varied greatly. Most required that users be fairly knowledgeable about their medical condition and sophisticated in their web navigation skills. The ability to search by a specific health condition or type of cancer was the most common search strategy. The more complex tools required that users input detailed information about their personal medical history and have knowledge of specific clinical trial terminology. Search tools, however, only occasionally advised users to consult their doctors regarding clinical trial decision-making. This, along with the complexity of the tools suggests that online search tools may not adequately facilitate the clinical trial recruitment process. Findings from this analysis can be used as a framework from which to systematically examine actual consumer experience with online clinical trial search tools. KW - clinical KW - trials AU - Atkinson, Nancy L AU - Saperstein, Sandra L AU - Massett, Holly A AU - Leonard, Colleen Ryan AU - Grama, Lakshmi AU - Manrow, Rick PY - 2008/02/07/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2008.01.007 ER -