A Census of Clinical Trials Conducted Under the US Exception from Informed Consent Rule
Krista L. Snyder, Jon F. Merz
medRxiv, 24 August 2022
Abstract
Background
The US Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health adopted the Exception from Informed Consent (EFIC) rule in 1996, permitting waiver of informed consent for certain emergency research, including trials funded by the federal government. The rule requires that prospective consent be sought when practicable from patients or their Legally Authorized Representative(s) (LAR), and for those enrolled without consent, the patient or their LAR must be given information and an opportunity to opt-out from continued participation at the earliest opportunity. We sought to census the trials conducted under the EFIC rule to facilitate research to better understand how the rule is being used.
Methods
We conducted a multi-pronged search to try and identify all trials conducted under the EFIC rule, drawing on numerous reviews, Medline and Google searches (including of the clinicaltrials.gov registry), examination of the FDA’s docket, posting an inquiry on the IRB Forum, and email requests to lead authors of all published EFIC trials and related review articles. We describe the trials, when they were started and completed, and whether they were terminated early.
Results
We identified a total of 105 trials as of April 1, 2022: 77 complete, 10 recruiting, 10 registered on clinicaltrials.gov but not yet recruiting, 5 trials that were abandoned before enrolling any subjects, and 3 trials in early planning. Nine of the 77 completed trials were pilot or feasibility trials. Of 68 completed full trials, 30 (44.1%) were terminated early. The most common reason for early termination was futility or safety (17 trials, 25.0%) followed by poor recruitment (9 trials, 13.2%). The rate of conduct of trials has been remarkably constant since 2001, with roughly 18 trials started in each 5-year period.
Conclusions
The rate of early termination of EFIC trials for futility or safety appears higher than for other kinds of clinical research. We provide the list of trials in a Supplement for further in-depth data collection and analysis of this set of trials.

Use Of Teach-Back During Informed Consent In Cancer Clinical Trials
Christa Varnadoe
Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses, 2022
Open Access
Abstract
Five percent of the 1.8 million patients diagnosed with cancer in the United States (US) enroll annually in a clinical trial (American Cancer Society, 2021; Institute of Medicine Committee on Cancer Clinical Trials; National Cancer Institute Cooperative Group Program, 2010). Flawed research consent practices are detrimental to patient safety and costly to the US Healthcare system (Eisenberg et al., 2012; Unger et al., 2019). Well trained nurses are imperative to conducting rigorous, reproducible, and quality research (Brandt et al., 2011). Programs designed to educate nurses on how to implement comprehensive communication strategies confidently during the Cancer Clinical Trials (CCT) consent process remain scarce (Nusbaum et al, 2019; Purdom et al., 2017). The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effects of an evidenced-based education program on nurse confidence with use of the teach-back method during the CCT consent process. An evidenced based education program was developed. It was implemented as a synchronous webinar to members of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses. Pre and post test program surveys measuring confidence levels were disseminated. There was an overall increase in postsurvey responses suggesting an improvement in confidence levels with use of the teach-back method during the CCT IC process. Further study can explore if patient understanding of CCTs during the IC process is developed proportionally to levels of nurse confidence with use of the teach-back method.

Ethical Considerations during the Informed Consent Process for Acute Ischemic Stroke in International Clinical Trials
Tiffany Bellomo, Jennifer Fokas, Noah Tsao, Clare Anderson, Christopher Becker, Rachel Gioscia-Ryan, William Meurer
Ethics & Human Research, 8 July 2022; 44(4) pp 14-25
Abstract
We sought to investigate the experiences of researchers in existing active-control trials in acute ischemic stroke comparing investigational therapy to tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in order to identify the approaches and challenges in obtaining informed consent. Out of 401 articles evaluated, 14 trials met inclusion criteria. Trial representatives were contacted to complete a survey concerning the consent process. None of the 14 trials published materials related to the informed consent process. Trials with 75% to 100% of patients directly consented had shorter door-to-treatment (DTT) times than trials that directly consented less than 50% of patients. Trials that had translators available (for recruiting participants who were not native speakers in the local language) and translated consent documents had longer DTT times. The study findings suggest that differences in the standards of informed consent internationally may allow more patients with moderate strokes to provide direct consent without delaying DTT time. Future trials should emphasize transparency to the public and scientific community in the informed consent process.

Developing and Implementing Electronic Consent Procedures in Response to Covid-19 Restrictions
Julie R. Bromberg, Evelyn Nimaja, Andrew W. Kiragu, Karla A. Lawson, Lois Lee, Isam W. Nasr, Charles Pruitt, Stephanie M. Ruest, Michael J. Mello
Ethics & Human Research, 8 July 2022; 44(4) pp 34-38
Open Access
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented restrictions on many public, private, and workplace activities throughout the United States and elsewhere. When restrictions were imposed, we were conducting a type III hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial in 10 pediatric trauma centers. In response to several pandemic-based restrictions, we had to develop procedures for engaging with potential research participants while limiting nonclinical, in-person interactions. This manuscript describes the procedures and challenges of obtaining electronic informed consent and assent in a multisite trauma center-based research study. We developed, tested, and trained staff to implement three options for obtaining informed consent. Twenty-five participants were enrolled in the effectiveness-implementation multisite trial during the first six months of utilization of the consent options, with eleven of these individuals enrolled using hybrid or electronic consent procedures. The challenges we identified involving electronic consent procedures included confusion over who would complete the electronic consent process and difficulties reconnecting with families. Lessons learned can strengthen electronic consent and assent procedures for future studies. More research is needed to further strengthen this process and increase its utilization.

Issues About Digital Informed Consent in Clinical Research
Freade Akbar, Ray Wagiu Basrowi
Indonesian Journal of Community and Occupational Medicine, July 2022; 2(1) pp 40-7
Open Access
Abstract
Introduction
Informed consent is a concrete form of moral and ethical values that urgently needs to be emphasized, especially in research that requires the role of humans as subjects and is commonly associated with experimental research. Informed consent itself consists of two forms of print and digital, along with the times many parties began to examine how the role of informed consent, the advantages and disadvantages between print and digital, the application of good digital informed consent, and how information about research should be conveyed to the research subject so that it is easy to understand and in accordance with moral and ethical standards. The purpose of this article is to address issues related to digital informed consent in clinical research.
Methods
We conducted a search on the SpingerLink database in March 2022 to see various publications in the last 2 years related to electronic informed consent using keywords: digital, informed consent, research.
Results
Total 4 articles as source of literature review. Recent research shows the tendency of research subjects to choose digital informed consent because content is easier to personalize, makes it easier to understand content that is only needed by the subject, and the ease of adding digital content in certain forms of media such as audio, and video into digital formats. From the researcher’s side will increase the active participation and number of study subjects, making it easier for long-term interaction, especially follow-up research. There are 4 types of informed consent based on utilization for research and 5 informed consent processes that must be carried out in clinical research, which is attempted using language that is easily understood by the research subject and dynamic for further research.
Conclusions
Informed consent in any form constitutes the autonomy right of the subject. Digital formats provide better prospects in facilitating communication to research subjects. But this ease must be accompanied by the consistency of the application of the standard informed consent process, even in intervention studies with biological samples this is more stringent. Informed consent given to the subject must use language that is easy to understand, and transparent. The subject of the study is given the right at any time to exit the research. In the future, the issue of morals and ethics of research will grow, and more dynamic informed consent is needed, especially for interventional clinical research.