JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Clinical trials have led to the development of new and effective therapies for many dermatologic conditions. To our knowledge, there is no published study that has quantified and described the degree of involvement in clinical trials among academic dermatologists and their university affiliates.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to characterize the involvement of academic dermatology departments in clinical trials research.

Methods:

An online survey was sent to 211 VA-employed dermatologists and was ultimately completed by 48 dermatologists, who provided their university affiliations and details of clinical trials research.

Results:

Over half (n=25, 58.1%) of participants with a university affiliate reported that their affiliated dermatology department had a dedicated clinical trials unit. Basal cell carcinoma was the most frequently studied skin condition (n=9, 18.8% of participants) followed by atopic dermatitis and psoriasis (n=4, 8.3% each); 66.7% of participants reported no current clinical trials participation. Of those conducting clinical trials, 87.0% noted that COVID-19 was a barrier to conducting trials, with 52.2% citing disrupted or decreased trials due to the pandemic. A key limitation of our study was the low response rate (~23%), and that the survey responses from the sample of VA-based dermatologists may not be generalizable to US academic dermatology departments.

Conclusions:

Although many dermatologists with university affiliations reported having a dedicated clinical trials unit at their institution, a majority of those surveyed reported not taking part in any active trials. Overall, the diseases investigated in academic clinical trials appear to follow national trends, though some of the top dermatological diseases are underrepresented in clinical trials research. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to play a significant role in disrupting active trials.