title: Recruitment difficulties in a home telecare trial.
abstract: We analysed the difficulties encountered in recruiting predominantly older patients, suffering from an acute exacerbation of a chronic illness, to a randomized controlled trial of home telecare. Of 653 patients approached for study participation, after full assessment, 80% (519) met the trial eligibility criteria. Of these, 104 (20%) consented to study participation and 415 (80%) refused. A logistic regression model was constructed to examine independent effects of patient factors on probability of trial participation. Only two independent variables were associated with decreased likelihood of consent: increasing age (1 year older: odds ratio [OR] = 0.96); and being on inhaled steroid medication (OR = 0.60). The most common reason for refusal to participate, accounting for almost one-third of respondents, was a stated preference for a face-to-face nurse visiting service rather than a telecare service. Perhaps home telecare services should continue to be targeted at the more stable chronically ill population and not at those suffering from acute illness.
authors.affiliation: University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. fm46c@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shiels
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Angus
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haycox
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capewell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D019114:Remote Consultation