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Outcomes

Diversifying Autism Research with Digital Recruitment

Texas Children’s Hospital quadrupled overall enrollment and increased participation among families of color in the SPARK autism study in the year after implementing an advisory that encouraged providers to talk to patients about the study.

At Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, in collaboration with partners at Baylor College of Medicine, researchers used Epic to notify physicians when a pediatric patient might be a viable candidate to enroll in SPARK. One year after the notification was introduced, patients who enrolled as a result of the advisory were 64.2% more likely to participate actively after enrollment than patients recruited using other methods—and the percentage rose to 72.0% when the study examined non-White patients specifically.

How They Did It:

  • Designed a BestPractice Advisory about possible eligibility for studies examining autism
  • Educated clinicians on the importance of autism research
  • Encouraged patient-provider conversations to increase study participation among low-response groups

Read the full article on EpicShare.