Evaluation of recruitment methods for a trial targeting childhood obesity: Families for Health randomised controlled trial
Evaluation of recruitment methods for a trial targeting childhood obesity: Families for Health randomised controlled trial
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DOI：
10.1186/s13063-015-1062-x
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发表时间：
2015-11-25
期刊：
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Robertson, W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fleming, J.;Kamal, A.;Robertson, W.
背景：招募评估儿童肥胖管理干预措施有效性的试验具有挑战性。我们向家庭健康研究报告了我们的招募经验，该研究是一项随机对照试验，旨在评估针对 6-11 岁儿童的家庭社区计划与常规护理的有效性。我们评估了主动招募（直接联系符合条件的家庭）与被动招募（通过传单、公共活动、媒体向社区通报）的有效性。方法：最初的方法包括通过媒体（报纸和广播）被动招募和两种主动招募方法：国家儿童测量计划（给超重儿童家庭的信）和医疗保健专业人员的推荐。由于初始招募缓慢，因此采用了进一步的策略，包括主动（例如来自一般实践的有针对性的信件）和被动（例如传单、海报和公共活动）方法。在潜在参与者的第一次询问中，家庭被问到他们是从哪里听说这项研究的。从基线和 3 个月随访的招募家庭中收集了进一步的定量（问卷）和定性数据（与家长/照顾者一对一访谈），包括有关招募的问题。结果：总共有 194 个家庭询问了家庭健康计划，其中 115 个家庭（59.3%）被招募并随机分组。积极招募，共收到 85 份询问，招募了 43 个家庭（50.6%）；被动招募产生了 99 个询问，招募了 72 个家庭（72.7%）。在学校或全科医生诊所看到的信息占询问的四分之一以上 (28.4%) 和最终招聘的三分之一以上 (37.4%)。这样询问的十个家庭就有八个被招募了。媒体主导的询问很少（5%），但全部都被招募了。积极招募的家庭的孩子更有可能是亚洲人或混血儿。尽管采用了广泛的招募方法，但该试验并未按计划进行招募，并获得了免费延期以完成 12 个月的随访。结论：通过被动方法招募的参与者数量较多可能是因为这些方法接触到了大量的潜在参与者，并且因为参与者可能会多次看到信息。儿童肥胖治疗研究的招募是复杂的，建议使用多种招募策略，有些旨在全面覆盖，有些则针对有超重儿童的家庭。
Background: Recruitment to trials evaluating the effectiveness of childhood obesity management interventions is challenging. We report our experience of recruitment to the Families for Health study, a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a family-based community programme for children aged 6-11 years, versus usual care. We evaluated the effectiveness of active recruitment (contacting eligible families directly) versus passive recruitment (informing the community through flyers, public events, media).Methods: Initial approaches included passive recruitment via the media (newspapers and radio) and two active recruitment methods: National Child Measurement Programme (letters to families with overweight children) and referrals from health-care professionals. With slow initial recruitment, further strategies were employed, including active (e.g. targeted letters from general practices) and passive (e.g. flyers, posters and public events) methods. At first enquiry from a potential participant, families were asked where they heard about the study. Further quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative data (one-to-one interviews with parents/carers), were collected from recruited families at baseline and 3-month follow-up and included questions about recruitment.Results: In total, 194 families enquired about Families for Health, and 115 (59.3 %) were recruited and randomised. Active recruitment yielded 85 enquiries, with 43 families recruited (50.6 %); passive recruitment yielded 99 enquiries with 72 families recruited (72.7 %). Information seen at schools or GP surgeries accounted for over a quarter of enquiries (28.4 %) and over a third (37.4 %) of final recruitment. Eight out of ten families who enquired this way were recruited. Media-led enquiries were low (5 %), but all were recruited. Children of families recruited actively were more likely to be Asian or mixed race. Despite extensive recruitment methods, the trial did not recruit as planned, and was awarded a no-cost extension to complete the 12-month follow-up.Conclusions: The higher number of participants recruited through passive methods may be due to the large number of potential participants these methods reached and because participants may see the information more than once. Recruiting to a child obesity treatment study is complex and it is advisable to use multiple recruitment strategies, some aiming at blanket coverage and some targeted at families with children who are overweight.