Plan travel, time off, and recovery for a study

Count six layers of burden

1. Active time: calls, consent, visits, procedures, diaries, support, and follow-up.
2. Travel time: door-to-door transport, transfers, parking, security, and check-in.
3. Constraint time: fasting, medication or activity rules, device wear, sample windows, and staying near the site.
4. Recovery time: rest, sedation restrictions, soreness, sleep disruption, or delayed return to work.
5. Coordination time: records, childcare, caregiver, pet care, work approval, and receipts.
6. Uncertainty: standby, rescheduling, delayed discharge, weather, cohort changes, or unscheduled safety checks.

Enter active, travel, home-task, and recovery time in the calculator. Record each fasting or restriction window separately from active task hours.

Ask for visit windows in clock time

Record the target day, earliest arrival, latest arrival, expected end, and allowed reschedule range. Ask which windows are scientific requirements and which reflect staff availability. Identify visits that depend on dosing time, menstrual cycle, sleep schedule, meal timing, or prior procedures.

Ask what happens when a flight, illness, family emergency, or site delay moves a visit outside the window. Confirm whether the visit repeats, the cohort changes, or participation ends.

Obtain travel approval before purchase

Ask whether you book travel or use a vendor. Confirm fare class, changeable tickets, baggage, mileage rate, tolls, parking, rideshare, rental car, fuel, hotel, meals, companion travel, childcare, and accessibility expenses. Obtain written approval for an exception.

Record who pays first and who carries cancellation risk. Ask what happens when the sponsor or site cancels after you book.

Plan companions and safe return

Ask whether sedation, anesthesia, dosing, vision testing, cognitive testing, or another procedure prevents driving. Confirm whether a companion must remain on site, whether their travel or lodging qualifies for reimbursement, and what happens when discharge is delayed.

For participants who need a caregiver, interpreter, mobility assistance, or another accommodation, describe the need before booking. Ask which parts of the visit allow a support person. Use the accessibility and caregiver planning guide to distinguish companions, interpreters, and legally authorized representatives.

Inspect lodging and long-distance travel

Confirm check-in and checkout dates, distance from the site, shuttle, taxes, deposits, incidental holds, accessibility, meals, and late-discharge coverage. Ask who changes the reservation after a medical delay.

For cross-border travel, ask about passports, visas, travel insurance, local medical care, currency, tax forms, product transport, and the jurisdiction described in consent. Obtain professional advice for legal, immigration, insurance, or tax questions.

Plan for cancellations and travel delays

Record the site’s weather, transport, and closure policy. Ask whether remote procedures can replace a visit and whether another location may be used. Keep the after-hours number and travel-vendor contact offline.

Test the route at the scheduled hour. Include parking-to-clinic time, campus navigation, security, and mobility needs. A ten-mile trip can still create a long, uncertain window.