Facilitators and Barriers to Recruiting Ambulatory Oncology Practices Into a Large Multisite Study: Mixed Methods...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Implementation Science

Background:

• Practice-based research is crucial for understanding ambulatory oncology care outcomes.
• Despite increased interest, guidance on recruiting oncology practices for research is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe facilitators and barriers encountered when recruiting ambulatory oncology practices for a large, multisite study.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods design was employed to recruit 52 practices.
• The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) domains were used to analyze recruitment facilitators and barriers.

Main Results:

• 28 out of 52 targeted practices were recruited, with data from 2223 patients and 297 clinicians.
• Facilitators included multimodal outreach, interactive training, practice champions, and collaboration with a quality improvement network.
• Barriers involved diverse human subjects protection policies and the time-intensive, negotiated nature of recruitment.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights challenges and offers solutions for recruiting oncology practices.
• Utilizing the CFIR framework aids in identifying and strategizing for recruitment barriers and facilitators.
• Effective partnerships between researchers and clinicians are vital for successful research in ambulatory oncology settings.