EFGCP Geriatric Medicines Working Party Workshop on

How to Improve Communication in and around Clinical Studies for Older People and Elderly Patients

25 November 2010, Résidence Palace, Brussels, Belgium

Older adults are greatly underrepresented in clinical trials in spite of having a disproportionate amount of disease and consuming more prescription drugs and therapies. This restricts the generalizability, efficacy, and safety of treatment. The exclusion of older adults as participants in clinical trials is highly problematic, because older adults have disproportionately high rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease or related disorders, arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease. The reasons for the exclusion of older adults in clinical trials are complex and challenging. Older patients face a combination of obstacles. These include comorbidities, decision making incapacities linked with cognitive impairment, communication issues (e.g., aphasia, or hearing difficulties that interfere with telephone interviews and impaired vision that affects written surveys or tests), and physical immobility that limits travel. Communication issues may be the first step to improve older patients’ participation in clinical trials...