Evaluation of recruitment methods for a trial targeting childhood obesity: Families for Health randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundRecruitment to trials evaluating the effectiveness of childhood obesity management interventions is challenging. We report our experience of recruitment to the Families for Health study, a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a family-based community programme for children aged 6–11 years, versus usual care. We evaluated the effectiveness of active recruitment (contacting eligible families directly) versus passive recruitment (informing the community through flyers, public events, media).MethodsInitial approaches included passive recruitment via the media (newspapers and radio) and two active recruitment methods: National Child Measurement Programme (letters to families with overweight children) and referrals from health-care professionals. With slow initial recruitment, further strategies were employed, including active (e.g. targeted letters from general practices) and passive (e.g. flyers, posters and public events) methods. At first enquiry from a potential participant, families were asked where they heard about the study. Further quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative data (one-to-one interviews with parents/carers), were collected from recruited families at baseline and 3-month follow-up and included questions about recruitment.ResultsIn total, 194 families enquired about Families for Health, and 115 (59.3 %) were recruited and randomised. Active recruitment yielded 85 enquiries, with 43 families recruited (50.6 %); passive recruitment yielded 99 enquiries with 72 families recruited (72.7 %). Information seen at schools or GP surgeries accounted for over a quarter of enquiries (28.4 %) and over a third (37.4 %) of final recruitment. Eight out of ten families who enquired this way were recruited. Media-led enquiries were low (5 %), but all were recruited. Children of families recruited actively were more likely to be Asian or mixed race. Despite extensive recruitment methods, the trial did not recruit as planned, and was awarded a no-cost extension to complete the 12-month follow-up.ConclusionsThe higher number of participants recruited through passive methods may be due to the large number of potential participants these methods reached and because participants may see the information more than once. Recruiting to a child obesity treatment study is complex and it is advisable to use multiple recruitment strategies, some aiming at blanket coverage and some targeted at families with children who are overweight.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN45032201 (Date: 18 August 2011)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-015-1062-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Parent engagement and attendance in PEACH™ QLD – an up-scaled parent-led childhood obesity program

“…In agreement with findings from other similar programs, we also found that those who were self-referred had better program attendance [19, 21]. However, none of our hypothesized child and parent factors were shown to mediate these relationships.…”

“…Although, we found that professionally referred parents had higher levels of concern for their child’s weight status and its consequences on child health, these families attended on average 1.5 sessions less than those who were self-referred. Plausible explanations that align with previous studies [19, 21] include that self-referred parents were seeking support and were therefore more committed to the program and for professionally referred families, their enrolment in the program was not based on personal motivations (and/or their readiness to change) and/or their decision to attend did not involve their children, subsequently limiting their ongoing commitment to program attendance [16]. Another possible explanation based on the historical management of child obesity (i.e.…”

Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of the ‘Families for Health’ programme to reduce obesity in children

“…We aimed to recruit 40 families from each of three sites, using active and passive recruitment methods. 12 Active recruitment methods were via letters to families with an eligible child identified by the National Child Measurement Programme and by referrals from healthcare professionals, including dietitians and general practitioners (GPs). Passive recruitment methods were via the local media (newspapers and radio); flyers and posters at schools, GP surgeries and other community venues and attending public events.…”

Parents' perceived obstacles to pediatric clinical trial participation: Findings from the clinical trials transformation initiative

“…These factors are further complicated by the challenges of obtaining parental consent for the child to participate [8] , [9] , [10] . Previous studies have shown that parental willingness to allow their children to participate in clinical trials is variable based on numerous factors, including: recruitment strategies used [11] , [12] , age of the child [11] , [13] , race [14] , socioeconomic status [15] , type of study or the perceived risk [15] , [16] , and health status of the child [13] . Fewer data exist that describe specific operational tactics and interventions that have the most impact on parents' perceptions of clinical trials.…”