WISDOM. Will Australian women participate?

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Clinical Trials
• Women's Health

Background:

• The Women's International Study of long Duration Oestrogen after Menopause (WISDOM) is a significant 10-year randomized controlled trial investigating hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
• Assessing recruitment likelihood is crucial for the success of long-term clinical trials like WISDOM, particularly for the target demographic of postmenopausal women.
• Understanding participation barriers and motivators is key to effective participant recruitment in large-scale health studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the participation likelihood of women aged 50-69 in the WISDOM trial.
• To identify sociodemographic factors influencing women's willingness to enroll in a decade-long HRT study.
• To estimate the actual recruitment rate for the WISDOM trial in Australia.

Main Methods:

• A representative population telephone survey, Health Monitor 2, was conducted.
• 268 women aged 50-69 years were surveyed regarding their likelihood to participate in the WISDOM trial.
• Sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health status were collected for analysis.

Main Results:

• 20.9% of surveyed women indicated they were likely to participate in the WISDOM trial.
• Participation likelihood was independent of sociodemographic factors and self-reported health.
• Women aged 50-54 years were more likely to participate compared to older women in the 50-69 age group.

Conclusions:

• An estimated 10% of eligible women aged 50-69 approached for WISDOM recruitment are likely to participate, after accounting for exclusion criteria.
• The study suggests sufficient altruistic participants exist in Australia to successfully recruit for the WISDOM trial.
• Targeting younger women within the eligible age range may enhance recruitment strategies for long-term HRT studies.