Related Experiment Videos
Studies in emergency department data collection: shared versus split responsibility for patient enrollment
Judd E Hollander1, Dina M Sparano, Marianna Karounos
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA. jholland@mail.med.upenn.edu
Summary
Clinical study enrollment using shared versus split coverage by academic associates in the emergency department yielded similar patient recruitment rates. However, students preferred the split strategy for better patient tracking and enrollment assistance.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Research
- Emergency Medicine
- Study Design
Background:
- The academic associate (AA) program utilizes undergraduate students for clinical study data collection in emergency departments (EDs).
- Current AA programs provide double coverage for 16 hours/day, 7 days/week, achieving over 85% patient enrollment.
- Enhanced strategies are needed to approach 100% patient enrollment in clinical studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare patient enrollment rates in clinical studies under shared versus split coverage models for academic associates.
- To evaluate the impact of recruitment strategy on the efficiency of data collection in the ED.
Main Methods:
- Prospective evaluation of patient enrollment over consecutive 15-day periods with 24 AAs in an ED setting.
- Comparison of shared (2 students per 24 ED rooms) versus split (1 student per 12 ED rooms) coverage strategies.
- Analysis of daily ED census, AA coverage hours, and patient recruitment for six clinical studies.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in AA coverage hours or average daily ED census between shared and split strategies.
- Overall patient recruitment percentages were similar: 45.2% for split coverage vs. 44.0% for shared coverage.
- Individual study enrollment numbers were comparable across both strategies, with no statistically significant difference.
Conclusions:
- Neither shared nor split responsibility strategies significantly impacted overall study subject enrollment rates.
- Academic associates reported the split strategy as more helpful for enrolling subjects and easier to monitor.
- The split coverage strategy may be optimal for similar student-led clinical data collection programs in the ED.