Study partners: essential collaborators in discovering treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Emily A. Largent, Jason Karlawish, Joshua D. Grill

Global leaders have set an ambitious goal of developing interventions to effectively treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease by 2025. Achieving this goal will require clinical trials to test promising interventions, yet Alzheimer's researchers are confronting a clinical trial recruitment crisis. One reason for this is that Alzheimer's disease trials must enroll "dyads" composed of both a participant and his or her study partner. In this article, we argue that it is essential to identify ways to facilitate study partner participation, such as removing logistical barriers, offering payment, and providing paid, protected time off for study visits. Facilitating participation, particularly among non-spousal study partners, should offer a twofold benefit: faster accrual and greater generalizability of results.