Obtaining outpatient referrals for clinical research

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent mental health condition.
• Effective patient recruitment is crucial for clinical research in GAD.
• Traditional recruitment methods, such as general practitioner referrals, may have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy and efficiency of two distinct patient recruitment strategies for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
• To determine the most economical and successful method for identifying suitable GAD participants for research.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving two recruitment approaches: general practitioner (GP) referrals and a newspaper advertisement.
• GPs in proximity to a major urban hospital were approached for patient referrals.
• A public call for volunteers with generalized anxiety was published in a local evening newspaper.
• Participants from both methods were assessed against DSM-III criteria for GAD.

Main Results:

• Direct GP referrals yielded only ten patients, with two meeting GAD criteria.
• The newspaper advertisement generated over 500 volunteers.
• A random selection of 136 newspaper volunteers, with physician approval, confirmed 56 met GAD criteria.
• The majority of non-GAD volunteers from the newspaper exhibited depressive illness.

Conclusions:

• Newspaper recruitment is significantly more effective and efficient for identifying generalized anxiety disorder patients compared to general practitioner referrals.
• Publicly advertised calls for volunteers can yield a larger and more cost-effective participant pool for GAD research.
• Newspaper recruitment may also identify individuals with comorbid conditions, such as depressive illness.