Improving recruitment to primary care trials: some lessons from the use of modern marketing techniques

Abstract

Successful recruitment to primary care studies is critical if high quality research is to be undertaken and if the research findings are to be representative of the population being researched.1 However, a recent survey of UK primary care trials found that problems with recruitment was the norm; for example, over half of the trials reported in one study ran past their recruitment timetable or had to seek additional funding to complete their data collection.2 Non-completion of studies is costly both in economic terms as well as in participants’ time. It is discouraging to the participation of primary care professionals in research if it is perceived that completion of a trial is both difficult and a potential waste of their resources. Non-completion can also increase the reluctance of funders to support primary care research.3–5 In an effort to facilitate primary care research, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) was set up in 2006. One of its key aims is to provide local researchers with the means to achieve better recruitment into primary care studies.6 Since the PCRN’s inception, it has become clear that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ recruitment strategy. There are marked differences between the approaches adopted by academia and industry to trial recruitment: in industry, practices may be treated as a ‘research substrate’ rather than as ‘active partners’ (the NIHR approach) and are generally offered financial incentives for each individual patient recruited.7 Other differences include a greater emphasis on marketing and communication strategies by industry and recognition of the need to create a ‘strong identity’ for the study, reinforced by project material that has a ‘strong visual impact’.6 As the demand on general practice time grows, there is the real risk that …