Using short information leaflets as recruitment tools did not improve recruitment: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Clinical Trials
• Health Services Research
• Patient Recruitment

Background:

• Optimizing patient recruitment is crucial for the success of randomized controlled trials.
• The format and content of patient information leaflets (PILs) may influence participant engagement and recruitment rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if the length of patient information leaflets (short vs. full) impacts patient recruitment in a primary care randomized trial.
• To evaluate the effect of PIL type on the number of eligible and ineligible patients identified.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial design was employed in a primary care setting.
• Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a short or a full patient information leaflet (PIL) with their initial research invitation.
• Recruitment rates and the number of ineligible patients were compared between the two groups.

Main Results:

• There was no statistically significant difference in recruitment rates between the short PIL group (5.4%) and the full PIL group (5.1%).
• The full PIL group yielded a statistically significant lower number of ineligible patients compared to the short PIL group (P=0.04).

Conclusions:

• The length of the patient information leaflet (short vs. full) does not significantly affect the number of patients recruited into a randomized trial.
• Utilizing full patient information leaflets is recommended as it leads to a more accurate identification of eligible participants, reducing the number of ineligible patients.