title: NETT coordinators: researchers, caregivers, or both?
abstract: The National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) required the coordinated evaluation and treatment of thousands of patients with emphysema simultaneous with data collection to evaluate the safety and efficacy of surgery versus medical treatment for emphysema. These tasks were performed by a multidisciplinary team led by the clinic coordinator at each NETT center. The clinic coordinators functioned as members of the research team as well as communicators, managers, and members of the patient care team. The clinic coordinators' ability to balance these roles was instrumental to the successful completion of NETT, as evidenced by randomization of 1,218 subjects with only 10 subjects being lost to follow-up. Striving to achieve recruitment goals and working to retain study subjects was very labor intensive. The coordinator role was complicated by the study population's severity of illness combined with the complexity of the NETT protocol. Management of the study subjects' medical condition had to be balanced with the management of a multicenter, randomized clinical trial to ensure quality data collection and protocol adherence.
authors.affiliation: Center for Chest Disease, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10032, USA. jellenp@nyp.org
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jellen
authors.forename: Frances L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Brogan
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kuzma
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meldrum
authors.forename: Yvonne M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Meli
authors.forename: Carla L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Grabianowski
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D018579:Patient Selection; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000601:surgery*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States