Quantifying the recruitment challenges with couple-based interventions for cancer: applications to early-stage breast cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Despite mounting evidence supporting the use of psychosocial interventions to promote adaptation to cancer, enrolling participants into these interventions is challenging. This is particularly salient for couple-based interventions, and newer, more targeted recruitment strategies to increase enrollment are needed. However, there have been few published empirical studies focused specifically on recruitment-related variables associated with enrollment into these types of interventions. To better understand how to encourage participation in couple-based psychosocial interventions for cancer, we examined facilitating and impeding factors to enrollment into a couple-based intervention for women with early-stage breast cancer.


METHODS
In this sample of 99 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, patient demographic variables and method of approaching eligible patients were examined as predictors of enrollment into a randomized controlled trial comparing couple-based relationship enhancement with treatment as usual.


RESULTS
Results indicated that women were more likely to enroll if they were contacted at home or at a follow-up medical appointment rather than when first diagnosed at a busy multidisciplinary clinic; they were also more likely to enroll the closer they lived to the research facility.


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to decreasing participant burden, timing and setting of recruitment efforts may have important implications for enhancing participation rates in couple-based intervention studies for cancer.
Fredman
Steffany J
SJ
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. fredman@bu.edu
Baucom
Donald H
DH
Gremore
Tina M
TM
Castellani
Angela M
AM
Kallman
Theresa A
TA
Porter
Laura S
LS
Kirby
Jennifer S
JS
Dees
E Claire
EC
Klauber-Demore
Nancy
N
Peppercorn
Jeffrey
J
Carey
Lisa A
LA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012803:Sick Role