title: Personalized contact strategies and predictors of time to survey completion: analysis of two sequential randomized trials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Effective strategies for contacting and recruiting study participants are critical in conducting clinical research. In this study, we conducted two sequential randomized controlled trials of mail- and telephone-based strategies for contacting and recruiting participants, and evaluated participant-related variables' association with time to survey completion and survey completion rates. Subjects eligible for this study were survivors of acute lung injury who had been previously enrolled in a 12-month observational follow-up study evaluating their physical, cognitive and mental health outcomes, with their last study visit completed at a median of 34 months previously.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible subjects were contacted to complete a new research survey as part of two randomized trials, initially using a randomized mail-based contact strategy, followed by a randomized telephone-based contact strategy for non-responders to the mail strategy. Both strategies focused on using either a personalized versus a generic approach. In addition, 18 potentially relevant subject-related variables (e.g., demographics, last known physical and mental health status) were evaluated for association with time to survey completion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 308 eligible subjects, 67% completed the survey with a median (IQR) of 3 (2, 5) contact attempts required. There was no significant difference in the time to survey completion for either randomized trial of mail- or phone-based contact strategy. Among all subject-related variables, age ≤40 years and minority race were independently associated with a longer time to survey completion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that age ≤40 years and minority race were associated with a longer time to survey completion, but personalized versus generic approaches to mail- and telephone-based contact strategies had no significant effect. Repeating both mail and telephone contact attempts was important for increasing survey completion rate.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT00719446.
authors.forename: Victor D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Dinglas
authors.forename: Minxuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kristin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sepulveda
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinedo
authors.forename: Ramona O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Colantuoni
authors.affiliation: Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery (OACIS) Group, Johns Hopkins University, 1830 E Monument Street, 5th floor, 21205 Baltimore, MD, USA. dale.needham@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Dale M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Needham
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000523:psychology*; D000367:Age Factors; D003142:Communication; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone; D016896:Treatment Outcome