Communicating the results of research: how do participants of a cardiac rehabilitation RCT prefer to be informed?
OBJECTIVE
To determine the preferred means by which participants in a study of cardiac rehabilitation wish to be informed of the study's results.


METHODS
Postal questionnaire survey of participants in a randomized controlled trial.


METHODS
Cornwall, southwest England.


METHODS
Patients recruited to the Cornwall Heart Attack Rehabilitation Management Study (CHARMS).


METHODS
Participants recruited to CHARMS who were alive 3 years and 9 months after the trial was completed were contacted by letter and invited to return a reply slip with four short questions indicating how they would prefer to be informed about the published results of the study.


RESULTS
In March 2008, 191/230 participants originally recruited to CHARMS were still alive. General practitioners deemed 166/191 (88%) survivors medically appropriate to be contacted through a postal survey, and 154/166 (93%) participants responded to the invitation to participate in the follow-up survey. 86% (143/166) of participants indicated that they wished to be informed about the results: 115 (80%) of these elected to receive information by letter and 25 (18%) of these preferred to attend a meeting. Men older than 65 years predominated in this latter group. Women respondents preferred to receive the study results by letter; none preferred communication by email or the web.


CONCLUSIONS
Survivors of acute myocardial infarction who participated in a RCT of cardiac rehabilitation wanted to receive a summary of the aggregate study results. Participants had preferences regarding how they would wish to be informed about the results of the study. Most participants preferred to be informed by letter or email, but some preferred the interaction of a group or a meeting.
Dalal
Hasnain
H
Peninsula Medical School (Primary Care), Truro, Cornwall, UK. hmdalal@doctors.net.uk
Wingham
Jennifer
J
Pritchard
Colin
C
Northey
Sharon
S
Evans
Philip
P
Taylor
Rod S
RS
Campbell
John
J
D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D035842:Research Subjects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires