2026 Trials for Older Adults: Eligibility, Polypharmacy & Telehealth

As the 2026 trial landscape evolves, researchers and clinicians are designing studies that account for aging physiology, multimorbidity, and the real-world constraints of older adults. This deep dive focuses on practical pathways for older adults and their caregivers to engage with research: Navigating trial eligibility with multiple chronic conditions, reducing medication burden, and leveraging home-based and digital options for participation.

Eligibility and multimorbidity: practical strategies

Older adults are frequently excluded by blanket criteria that don't reflect clinical complexity. Navigating trial eligibility with multiple chronic conditions requires early medication reconciliation, clear documentation of functional status, and targeted communication about how comorbidities affect risk–benefit assessment. Recent 2024–2025 clinical trial data show a modest but meaningful shift: more protocols now include stratified comorbidity allowances and frailty-screening tools, increasing enrollment of patients with cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurocognitive conditions.

Gynecologic and head-and-neck cancer trials for older adults

Trials in gynecologic and head-and-neck cancer are starting to adapt dosing and endpoints for older cohorts, emphasizing quality of life and tolerability. Investigators increasingly accept controlled comorbid conditions and use geriatric assessment to personalize eligibility rather than excluding by age alone. Caregivers of patients with rare diseases often provide crucial history and functional assessment that can make the difference in eligibility decisions.

Reducing medication burden: polypharmacy tips and cost-effectiveness

Reducing medication burden: polypharmacy tips for trial participants is a central operational task. A focused deprescribing review prior to enrollment—coordinated between the research team, primary care provider, and pharmacist—reduces protocol deviations and adverse events. Practical steps include reconciling over-the-counter supplements, assessing drug–drug interactions with investigational agents, and prioritizing symptom-managing meds that cannot be safely stopped. From a cost-effectiveness perspective, trials that incorporate medication optimization and telehealth follow-up often show downstream savings. 2024–2025 analyses across pragmatic trials reported fewer non-study hospital visits and lower travel-related expenses when trial protocols allowed remote monitoring and simplified medication regimens. The economic case is straightforward: fewer adverse events, reduced caregiver time off work, and lower transportation costs improve both participant retention and the societal value of trials.

• Primary care and specialty medication lists (including OTCs and supplements)
• Recent hospitalization and discharge summaries
• List of current diagnoses and recent lab results
• Contact information for your caregiver or healthcare proxy
• Any mobility aids, hearing/vision devices, and a list of questions for the study team

Home-based models, telehealth, and caregiver roles

Home-based and telehealth trials for seniors expand access while reducing physical burden. Remote consent, home nursing visits for sample collection, and video-based assessments are now validated across multiple 2024–2025 studies, improving enrollment of homebound and rural seniors. Caregivers of patients with rare diseases often act as co-navigators—managing devices, troubleshooting connectivity, and reporting outcomes—so trial designs that support caregiver training and compensation see higher data completeness.

Designing trials around the lived experience of older adults—including comorbidity, medication complexity, and caregiving realities—yields better science and better care.

Many patients find clinical trials through dedicated platforms that match their condition with relevant studies, helping connect older adults and caregivers to trials that fit medical and logistical needs. For clinicians and coordinators, the priority is pragmatic flexibility: broaden eligibility where safe, streamline medication reviews, and build telehealth capacity that truly reduces burden for participants and their caregivers.