Designing greener participant-centred trials: an analysis of ‘carbon relevant’ factors within items that influence participants’ decisions about trial recruitment and retention

Excerpt

The World Health Organization have recognised climate change as one of the biggest health threats facing humanity, considering its effects on social and environmental determining factors of health such as clean air, potable water, adequate food and secure shelter [1]. In 2007, the Sustainable Trials Study Group concluded that ‘clinical trials contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and estimates in 2023 predicted that the 350,000 trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov have a carbon usage of 27.5 M tonnes [2, 3]. Nevertheless, clinical trials are essential for identifying effective and safe treatments and preventing diseases. General recommendations targeting the reduction of carbon usage in research (National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Carbon Reduction Guidelines) were published in 2019 yet progress to decarbonise trials remains slow [3, 4]. Of the small number of studies that have explored carbon usage in clinical trials, factors such as energy usage in research premises, trial team, and participant-related travel have been identified as key impacts [5, 6]. …