title: Recruitment for a guided self-help binge eating trial: potential lessons for implementing programs in everyday practice settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore effects of various recruitment strategies on randomized clinical trial (RCT)-entry characteristics for patients with eating disorders within an everyday health-plan practice setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomly selected women, aged 25-50, in a Pacific Northwest HMO were invited to complete a self-report binge-eating screener for two treatment trials. We publicized the trials within the health plan to allow self-referral. Here, we report differences on eating-disorder status by mode and nature of recruitment (online, mail, self-referred) and assessment (comprehensive versus abbreviated) and on possible differences in enrollee characteristics between those recruited by strategy (self-referred versus study-outreach efforts).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Few differences emerged among those recruited through outreach who responded by different modalities (internet versus mail), early-versus-late responders, and those enrolling under more comprehensive or abbreviated assessment. Self-referred were more likely to meet binge-eating thresholds and reported higher average BMI than those recruited by outreach and responding by mail; however, in most respects the groups were more similar than anticipated. Fewer than 1% of those initially contacted through outreach enrolled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aggressive outreach and screening is likely not feasible for broader dissemination in everyday practice settings and recruits individuals with more similar demographic and clinical characteristics to those recruited through more abbreviated and realistic screening procedures than anticipated.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, 3800 N. Interstate Ave., Portland, Oregon 97227, USA. lynn.debar@kpchr.org
authors.forename: Lynn L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: DeBar
authors.forename: Bobbi Jo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Yarborough
authors.forename: Ruth H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Striegel-Moore
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosselli
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.forename: G Terence
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Helena C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kraemer
authors.forename: Rory
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D015995:Prevalence; D016730:Program Development; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires