A Randomized Trial of Recruitment Strategies for Research Participation

Sponsor
University of Pennsylvania (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT02697799
Collaborator
Massachusetts General Hospital (Other), Washington University School of Medicine (Other), M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Other), Northwestern University (Other)
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Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

In a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of attitudes towards research participation, we will evaluate the ethics, effectiveness, and cost- effectiveness of three recruitment strategies for research participation in a mobility trial among hospitalized patients and a smoking cessation trial among patients with depression.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Behavioral: High-level recruitment strategy consent form
  • Behavioral: Mid-level recruitment strategy consent form
N/A

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Actual Enrollment :
1296 participants
Allocation:
Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Masking:
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose:
Health Services Research
Official Title:
A Randomized Trial of Recruitment Strategies for Research Participation
Study Start Date :
Aug 1, 2016
Actual Primary Completion Date :
Aug 31, 2019
Actual Study Completion Date :
Aug 31, 2019

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: High-level recruitment strategy

Subjects in this group will receive pre-consent messaging and a consent form with a high-level recruitment strategy for research participation in the parent study. The consent form will provide information on the first page, under the header that describes the purpose of the study, as well as in the consent sections describing the cost to participate in the study.

Behavioral: High-level recruitment strategy consent form
Patients will be exposed to pre-consent messaging and a consent form that includes supplemental information describing a high-level recruitment strategy

Experimental: Mid-level recruitment strategy

Subjects in this group will receive pre-consent messaging and a consent form with a mid-level recruitment strategy for research participation in the parent study. The consent form will provide information on the first page, under the header that describes the purpose of the study, as well as in the consent sections describing the cost to participate in the study.

Behavioral: Mid-level recruitment strategy consent form
Patients will be exposed to pre-consent messaging and a consent form that includes supplemental information describing a mid-level recruitment strategy

No Intervention: No modified recruitment strategy

Subjects in this group will receive consent form without a modified recruitment strategy for research participation in the parent study.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. The primary outcome is the proportion of people assigned to each recruitment strategy that consent to participate in the three parent RCTs. [Immediate- Several Days]

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. Attitudes towards research [Immediate]

    Attitudes towards research will be measured using the Research Attitudes Questionnaire-7 (RAQ-7). Originally designed with 11 items, a shorter 7-item version (RAQ-7) has been shown to have improved internal consistency and factorial validity.

  2. Attention to informed consent [Immediate]

    We will assess the amount of time patients spend reading each part of the parent RCT consent forms. On-site research coordinators will facilitate the collection of this data as patients read the document via the recruitment strategy study's electronic database.

  3. Perceived risks of the research [Immediate]

    Perceived risks of the research will be measured by the 9-item compared riskiness scale, which assesses perceptions of research risk. Using this approach, patients compare their assessment of the riskiness of the RCTs to other salient and more commonly encountered risks. Such comparative assessments have been shown to be less susceptible to errors in scale calibration than isolated ratings of risks.

  4. Incidence of therapeutic misconceptions [Immediate]

    We will assess patients' ability to distinguish research from individualized patient care by measuring rates of therapeutic misconception across recruitment strategies among patients considering participation in the parent RCTs. We will assess this outcome with a 4-item tool developed by Dr. Scott Kim, which has been used for similar purposes in several research contexts.

  5. Understanding of the trial [Immediate]

    To assess whether increased attention translates into improved understanding of the parent RCTs, we will use a 6-item Trial Elements Quiz, featuring core elements of the parent RCTs' consent form.

  6. Perceptions of influence or coercion [Immediate]

    To measure general perception of coercion and voluntariness of research participation, we will use the five-item Perceived Coercion Scale of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey. The true/false scale is tailored to measure patients' perceptions of coercion in the inpatient psychiatric treatment admission process; we have edited the wording to make it relevant to participation in the parent RCTs.

  7. Retention through the end of treatment sessions [8 - 27 weeks]

    We will assess the impact of the recruitment strategies on retention status in the protocol of the parent RCTs.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years and Older
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
Inclusion Criteria:
  1. Eligible for parent RCT

  2. 18 years or older

  3. No prior knowledge of recruitment strategies used for this trial

  4. Speaks English

Exclusion Criteria:

1)Prior knowledge of recruitment strategies used for this trial

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 Northwestern University - Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago Illinois United States 60611
2 Massachusetts General Hospital Boston Massachusetts United States 02114
3 Washington University Siteman Cancer Center Saint Louis Missouri United States 63108
4 The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States 19104
5 The Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States 19104
6 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States 19104
7 The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston Texas United States 77030

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Washington University School of Medicine
  • M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • Northwestern University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Scott D Halpern, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.
Responsible Party:
Scott Halpern, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT02697799
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • 823491
First Posted:
Mar 3, 2016
Last Update Posted:
Oct 23, 2020
Last Verified:
Oct 1, 2020
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Oct 23, 2020