Using web-based screening to enhance efficiency of HMO clinical trial recruitment in women aged forty and older

Abstract

Background Screening potential participants for clinical trials can be labor-intensive, particularly when using long questionnaires administered by telephone.

Purpose This report describes the development and use of an interactive recruitment website as a supplemental screening strategy for a study using telephone screening interviews.

Methods Female HMO members, aged 40 and older, were recruited for a study testing dietary change interventions. Cohorts of potential participants were identified from electronic membership records every two to four weeks; they were sent a letter describing the study and then contacted by telephone. Those interested in the study were asked to complete a 27-question screening interview focused on dietary habits. After 14 cohorts of women were recruited by this method (n = 4246), a recruitment website was added and an additional 12 cohorts (n = 3000) were contacted. The modified recruitment letter for these later screening cohorts included the website address and a personal password for each woman. The website contained study information, and those who were interested could complete eligibility screening on-line.

Results Proactive participant response (women actively seeking study participation/screening) to the recruitment mailing was 9.5% (95% confidence interval (CI), 8.6–10.4%) in the cohorts without the website option and 11.5% (CI, 10.4–12.7%) after addition of the website option (P = 0.004). About half of women screened were ineligible for the study, a proportion that did not statistically differ by recruitment method.

Limitations The study population was limited to middle-aged and older female members of a non-profit health plan, so the generalizability of these findings to other populations is unknown. The pre-post design used in this study does not control for possible temporal changes unrelated to the study methods.

Conclusions The addition of the website screening option was associated with a relative 22% increase in recruitment combined with reduced staff time required for screening, thereby increasing screening efficiency. Web-based options for clinical trial recruitment and screening in targeted populations may increase response rates while also reducing staff time.