TY - JOUR
T1 - The tribulations of trials
T2 - lessons learnt recruiting 777 older adults into REtirement in ACTion (REACT) a community, group-based active ageing intervention targeting mobility disability.
AU - REACT Study Research Group
AU - Withall, Janet
AU - Greaves, Colin
AU - Thompson, Janice
AU - De Koning, Jolanthe
AU - Bollen, Jessica
AU - Moorlock, Sarah
AU - Fox, Kenneth R
AU - Western, Max
AU - Snowsill, Tristan
AU - Medina-Lara, Antonieta
AU - Cross, Rosina
AU - Ladlow, Peter
AU - Taylor, Gordon
AU - Zisi, Vasiliki
AU - Clynes, James
AU - Gray, Selena
AU - Agyapong-Badu, Sandra
AU - Guralnik, Jack M
AU - Rejeski, W. Jack
AU - Stathi, Afroditi
PY - 2020/3/9
Y1 - 2020/3/9
N2 - BackgroundChallenges of recruitment to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and successful strategies to overcome them should be clearly reported to improve recruitment into future trials. REtirement in ACTion (REACT) is a United Kingdom-based multicenter RCT recruiting older adults at high risk of mobility disability to a 12-month group-based exercise and behavior maintenance program or to a minimal Healthy Aging control intervention.MethodsThe recruitment target was 768 adults, aged 65 years and older scoring 4–9 on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Recruitment methods include the following: (a) invitations mailed by general practitioners (GPs); (b) invitations distributed via third-sector organizations; and (c) public relations (PR) campaign. Yields, efficiency, and costs were calculated.ResultsThe study recruited 777 (33.9% men) community-dwelling, older adults (mean age 77.55 years (SD 6.79), mean SPPB score 7.37 (SD 1.56)), 95.11% white (n = 739) and broadly representative of UK quintiles of deprivation. Over a 20-month recruitment period, 25,559 invitations were issued. Eighty-eight percent of the participants were recruited via GP invitations, 5.4% via the PR campaign, 3% via word-of-mouth, and 2.5% via third-sector organizations. Mean recruitment cost per participant was £78.47, with an extra £26.54 per recruit paid to GPs to cover research costs.ConclusionsREACT successfully recruited to target. Response rates were lower than initially predicted and recruitment timescales required adjustment. Written invitations from GPs were the most efficient method for recruiting older adults at risk of mobility disability. Targeted efforts could achieve more ethnically diverse cohorts. All trials should be required to provide recruitment data to enable evidence-based planning of future trials.
AB - BackgroundChallenges of recruitment to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and successful strategies to overcome them should be clearly reported to improve recruitment into future trials. REtirement in ACTion (REACT) is a United Kingdom-based multicenter RCT recruiting older adults at high risk of mobility disability to a 12-month group-based exercise and behavior maintenance program or to a minimal Healthy Aging control intervention.MethodsThe recruitment target was 768 adults, aged 65 years and older scoring 4–9 on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Recruitment methods include the following: (a) invitations mailed by general practitioners (GPs); (b) invitations distributed via third-sector organizations; and (c) public relations (PR) campaign. Yields, efficiency, and costs were calculated.ResultsThe study recruited 777 (33.9% men) community-dwelling, older adults (mean age 77.55 years (SD 6.79), mean SPPB score 7.37 (SD 1.56)), 95.11% white (n = 739) and broadly representative of UK quintiles of deprivation. Over a 20-month recruitment period, 25,559 invitations were issued. Eighty-eight percent of the participants were recruited via GP invitations, 5.4% via the PR campaign, 3% via word-of-mouth, and 2.5% via third-sector organizations. Mean recruitment cost per participant was £78.47, with an extra £26.54 per recruit paid to GPs to cover research costs.ConclusionsREACT successfully recruited to target. Response rates were lower than initially predicted and recruitment timescales required adjustment. Written invitations from GPs were the most efficient method for recruiting older adults at risk of mobility disability. Targeted efforts could achieve more ethnically diverse cohorts. All trials should be required to provide recruitment data to enable evidence-based planning of future trials.
KW - Physical activity
KW - Physical function
KW - Randomized control trial
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096151742&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/gerona/glaa051
DO - 10.1093/gerona/glaa051
M3 - Article
C2 - 32147709
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 75
SP - 2387
EP - 2395
JO - The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
JF - The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
IS - 12
ER -