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Grassroots campaign trail methods to recruit for clinical trials: recruitment lessons learned from trail to trial
Megan Murphy1, Daniel Merenstein
1Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Insights
Recruiting for pediatric clinical trials can be improved using grassroots campaign methods. This approach saved 30% of the budget and successfully recruited 638 children for the Decreasing the Rates of Illness in Kids (DRINK) study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Clinical Trials
- Public Health Research
- Community Engagement
Background:
- Pediatric trial recruitment is a significant challenge.
- Traditional methods include physician referrals and mass media.
- Grassroots campaigns offer an alternative recruitment strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel recruitment strategy for pediatric clinical trials.
- To detail lessons learned from grassroots political campaigning for trial recruitment.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of grassroots recruitment in the DRINK study.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 638 children aged 3-6 years.
- Comparison of grassroots recruitment with traditional methods (physician referral, mass media).
- Grassroots methods utilized community contacts and targeted media.
Main Results:
- The grassroots approach reduced recruitment costs by 30%.
- 638 eligible participants were recruited within 4 months.
- Participant retention exceeded 90% over the 90-day trial period.
Conclusions:
- Grassroots recruitment is a cost-effective and efficient method for pediatric trials.
- Community-based approaches are vital for successful participant recruitment.
- Further exploration of innovative recruitment techniques is warranted.
Background:
Literature reviews have identified recruitment as the single most challenging obstacle in conducting pediatric trials. This paper describes a paradigm shift in recruitment design, developed from experience with grassroots campaigns through the DRINK study (Decreasing the Rates of Illness in Kids). The objective of this study was to explain a new method for recruiting in clinical trials based on lessons learned from grassroots political campaigning.
Methods And Findings:
The study described is a randomized controlled trial of 638 3-6 year olds from the Washington, DC Area. The design involved a comparison between new recruiting approaches modeled after grassroots campaigns and traditional techniques. Traditional techniques for the purpose of this paper are defined by the use of physician referral, mass media such as radio and television advertisements, along with posters in public places like the subway. Grassroots approaches alternatively developed and utilized community contacts and employed targeted small market media community. The main outcome measures were the percentage of budget used and the number of eligible participants recruited.
Conclusions:
The results showed that the grassroots recruitment approach saved 30% of the budget, recruited 638 kids in 4 months and retained over 90% for the 90 day trial. New techniques need further exploration as community studies are stressed.
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