The recruitment of adolescents with obesity to a randomised controlled trial: A Fast Track to Health sub-study

Behavioural weight management interventions facilitate short to medium-term weight and cardiometabolic improvements in adolescent obesity. However, recruiting adolescents to trials of such interventions is challenging. This study describes strategies used to recruit adolescents with obesity into the Fast Track to Health (Fast Track) trial, conducted at two tertiary paediatric centres in Australia.

Fast Track (HREC/17/SCHN/164) was a randomised controlled trial that recruited 13-17-year-olds with obesity and ≥ 1 cardiometabolic complication, from December 2017 to March 2022. Families underwent phone screening, followed by in-person screening appointments. Recruitment strategies were grouped and enrolment yield by strategy was calculated.

Of 308 inquiries received, 141 (45.8 %) adolescents were recruited. The most successful strategy was referral from specialists at participating centres (21.2 % enrolment yield), followed by referrals from family/friends (6.5 %), other doctors/general practitioners (3.6 %), and social media (3.6 %). Social media was used for 11 months only (enrolment yield - 8.5 %). Recruitment strategies with low yield were study flyers/posters (1.6 %), digital/print media (1.3 %), and the study website (1.0 %). Of 137 adolescents excluded at phone screening, most were due to disinterest in participation or inability to make contact (60.6 %). Of 171 adolescents attending in-person screening, 30 did not meet inclusion criteria (n = 7 of those excluded had no metabolic complications, n = 7 were outside the BMI range).

Connecting with medical specialists may be important to support the engagement of treatment-seeking adolescents with obesity in clinical trials. Further research is needed to identify methods of enhancing clinical trial recruitment in primary care, community settings, and online.