Responding to a significant recruitment challenge within three nationwide psychoeducational trials for cancer patients

Abstract

Purpose When faced with a significant recruitment challenge for three nationwide psycho-educational trials targeting prostate and breast cancer patients, the Cancer Information Service Research Consortium initiated outreach efforts to increase accrual. Recruitment is reported by major outreach strategy to inform the use of similar campaigns, either as primary recruitment efforts or to supplement “in-reach” recruitment within oncology settings. Methods During a 33-month period, recruitment was tracked from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service (CIS), the American Cancer Society (ACS), Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s Love/Avon Army of Women (AOW), Internet advertising, press releases, radio/television interviews, recruitment materials in community venues, and outreach to churches and cancer support organizations. Results Across projects, the majority (89%) of recruited participants (N = 2,134) was obtained from the CIS (n = 901, 19 months of recruitment), AOW (n = 869, 18 months), and ACS (n = 123, 12 months). Other efforts showed minimal gain in recruitment. Conclusions Cancer information programs (e.g., CIS, ACS) and registries of individuals willing to participate in cancer-related research (e.g., AOW) can represent exceptional resources for outreach recruitment of cancer patients, especially when the eligibility criteria are highly restrictive. However, these resources do not yield samples representative of the larger population of adults diagnosed with cancer, and conclusions from such trials must be tempered accordingly. Implications for cancer survivors Inadequate recruitment to randomized controlled trials limits the creation of useful interventions for cancer survivors. By enrolling in cancer registries and taking part in research, cancer survivors can contribute to the development of effective resources for the survivor population.

Normative Data for Interpreting the BREAST-Q: Augmentation

“…Additionally, a high proportion of participants were highly educated and of a higher income status. While these factors are not representative of a random US population, and are thus limitations to our research, they are similar to previously published data on the BREAST-Q (10), large studies utilizing the AOW (21), and are common limitations faced in large clinical trials (22). Additionally, the women in the AOW had a greater age and BMI in comparison to women in the augmentation literature.…”

A Comparison Between Caucasians and African Americans in Willingness to Participate in Cancer Clinical Trials: The Roles of Knowledge, Distrust, Information Sources, and Religiosity

“…As reported in Langford and colleagues (2010), African American participants who reported greater trust in religious organizations for health information were less likely to know about CTs. Findings from the present study further demonstrate that churches may be a promising yet relatively little used information channel for promoting CTs (Derose et al, 2000;Germino et al, 2011;Stanton et al, 2013).…”

Development and utilization of complementary communication channels for treatment decision making and survivorship issues among cancer patients: The CIS Research Consortium Experience

“…Differences in project sample sizes were related to challenges in recruitment (Project 1) and two experimental groups (Project 3 – V-CIS alone and V-CIS with call back. Recruitment methods and challenges are reported elsewhere (Stanton et al, 2013). Enrolled participants were mainly non-Hispanic White (77% for Project 1, 81% for Project 2, and 93% for Project 3).…”