RECOVER-ENERGIZE enrolls first clinical trial participant
A research team at RECOVER’s South Dakota study site prioritizes diversity and accessibility in clinical trial enrollment.
RECOVER-ENERGIZE, a set of two clinical trials focused on potential treatments for people with symptoms of exercise intolerance or post-exertional malaise (PEM) related to Long COVID, recently enrolled its first participant at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. About 660 total participants will be enrolled across the two trials at 45 locations in the United States.
Dr. Sophie M. Two Hawk, principal investigator at RECOVER’s Avera McKennan study site, says she noticed that many of her patients were developing Long COVID symptoms and wanted to be part of a solution. “There were limited studies about treatments for these symptoms, so I had to observe incidental treatments to inform my care decisions. I knew that to truly know if a treatment was effective, we needed research,” she says.
In collaboration with doctors, researchers, and patient and community Representatives, RECOVER-ENERGIZE was created to study potential treatments for adults who still have:
- Exercise intolerance, which may be experienced as shortness of breath, muscle weakness, or extreme tiredness (fatigue) that causes a person to stop physical activity, or
- Post-exertional malaise (PEM), which may be experienced as exercise intolerance as well as difficulty thinking, trouble sleeping, or severe tiredness after minimal physical, mental, social, or emotional activity that may last for days or even weeks.
As a RECOVER-ENERGIZE site, Dr. Two Hawk’s team works to ensure these research opportunities are accessible to their local community. “We attend several local events each month where we talk to community members about the RECOVER clinical trials. This outreach has led to several enrolled participants,” says Shelby Petereit, Clinical Research Supervisor at Avera McKennan. “We also offer Lyft rides to and from the research clinic and home visits via our mobile health unit.”
In addition to removing barriers to participation, Dr. Two Hawk’s team also prioritizes recruiting diverse study participants, which helps ensure the results from these research studies can help as many people as possible. “Diverse enrollment will allow the study to more accurately reflect the population that we see in South Dakota and our local communities,” says Dr. Two Hawk. “This will help us better understand and treat our patients.”
RECOVER-ENERGIZE will continue to enroll trial participants at 45 planned sites throughout the country. All active study sites are listed in the study record on ClinicalTrials.gov.