On April 9, community engagement practitioners from Sub Saharan Africa discussed how COVID-19 is impacting ongoing clinical trials. While most clinical trials have paused enrollment to ensure participant and study teams safety and well-being. Most sites are continuing remotely with critical retention activities to uphold data integrity.
Professor Sinead Delany-Moretlwe of Wits RHI lead the discussion on how this pandemic is affecting clinical trials in Sub-Saharan Africa. She spoke on the implications COVID-19 has on data; the significance of each study visit and what happens when each visit is missed. Professor Delany-Moretlwe also presented an overview of some of the emerging COVID-19 related trials and their significance. During this webinar, various community engagement practitioners from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa discussed the potential implications on data integrity and study results of ongoing trials, preparation for continued retention activities with participants and the use of virtual engagement strategies in a global pandemic.