Effective and cost-effective clinical trial recruitment strategies for postmenopausal women in a community-based, primary care setting.
BACKGROUND
Little evidence exists to guide investigators on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various recruitment strategies in primary care research. The purpose of this study is to describe the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of eight clinical trial recruitment methods for postmenopausal women in a community-based setting.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis of the yield and cost of eight different recruitment methods: 1) family physician (FP) recruiters, 2) FP referrals, 3) community presentations, 4) community events, 5) newsletters, 6) direct mailings, 7) posters, and 8) newspaper advertisements that were used to recruit postmenopausal women to a randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluating the effectiveness of gabapentin in treating hot flashes.


RESULTS
We recruited 197 postmenopausal women from a total of 904 screened, with 291 of the remainder being ineligible and 416 declining to participate. Of the 904 women screened, 34 (3.8%) were from FP recruiters and 35 (3.9%) were from other FP referrals while 612 (67.7%) resulted from newspaper advertisements. Of the 197 women enrolled, 141 (72%) were from newspaper advertisements, with 26 (13%) following next from posters. Word of mouth was identified as an additional unanticipated study recruitment strategy. Metropolitan newspaper advertising at $112.73 (Canadian) per enrolled participant and posters at $119.98 were found to be cost-effective recruitment methods.


CONCLUSIONS
Newspaper advertisements were the most successful method to recruit postmenopausal women into a community-based, primary care RCT.
Butt
Debra A
DA
The Scarborough Hospital, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, 211-3030 Lawrence Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M1P 2T7. dbutt@tsh.to
Lock
Michael
M
Harvey
Bart J
BJ
D000329:Advertising / Q000191:economics; D000368:Aged; D000588:Amines / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000077206:Gabapentin; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D009864:Ontario; D018579:Patient Selection; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000191:economics; D017698:Postmenopause; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000588:Amines; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin