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. 2023 Sep 30;16(1):240.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-023-06534-5.

Clinical research stakeholders' experiences of clinical research during COVID-19: a qualitative study

Christine FitzGerald  1 , Aoife Vaughan-Witts  2 , Louise Barry  3 , Gillian Corey  4 , Fiona Leahy  4 , Siobhán Egan  4 , Elaine Conway  4 , Margaret O'Connor  5 , Rose Galvin  3
Affiliations

Clinical research stakeholders' experiences of clinical research during COVID-19: a qualitative study

Christine FitzGerald et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created a complex high-risk clinical research environment with clinical research activities significantly impacted. Clinical research stakeholders adapted rapidly to new clinical practices; PPE, infection control policies, all while engaging with a more unwell patient demographic. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of conducting clinical research during COVID-19 with clinical research stakeholders.

Methods: This qualitative study of semi-structured interviews conducted with clinical research stakeholders in an acute Hospital setting across a variety of disciplines; Consultant Geriatrician, Clinical Research Nurse, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy. Interviews were fully transcribed prior to reflexive thematic analysis. NVivo software was used to support data management and analysis.

Results: Three main themes were produced; (1) The challenging COVID-19 clinical research landscape, (2) COVID-19 clinical research communication barriers, and (3) Adaptations and learnings from clinical research during COVID-19.

Conclusions: This study explored the experiences of conducting clinical research during COVID-19 with clinical research stakeholders examining challenges faced and adaptations required. The findings inform, equip and support clinical research stakeholders in the event of future adverse public health events.

Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical research; Clinical research stakeholders; Qualitative.

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Conflict of interest statement

No, I declare that the authors have no competing interests as defined by BMC, or other interests that might be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Theme Production. Overview of the production of themes resulting in three core themes; (1) The challenging COVID-19 clinical research landscape, (2) Clinical research communication barriers, and (3) Adaptations and learnings from clinical research during COVID-19
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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