Commentary: Pivoting during a pandemic: developing a new recruitment model for a randomised controlled trial in response to COVID-19

Shakira Milton, Jennifer McIntosh, Lucy Boyd, Napin Karnchanachari, Finlay Macrae, Jon David Emery

Research output: Contribution to journalComment / DebateResearchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Many non-COVID-19 trials were disrupted in 2020 and either struggled to recruit participants or stopped recruiting altogether. In December 2019, just before the pandemic, we were awarded a grant to conduct a randomised controlled trial, the Should I Take Aspirin? (SITA) trial, in Victoria, the Australian state most heavily affected by COVID-19 during 2020. Main body: We originally modelled the SITA trial recruitment method on previous trials where participants were approached and recruited in general practice waiting rooms. COVID-19 changed the way general practices worked, with a significant increase in telehealth consultations and restrictions on in person waiting room attendance. This prompted us to adapt our recruitment methods to this new environment to reduce potential risk to participants and staff, whilst minimising any recruitment bias. We designed a novel teletrial model, which involved calling participants prior to their general practitioner appointments to check their eligibility. We delivered the trial both virtually and face-to-face with similar overall recruitment rates to our previous studies. Conclusion: We developed an effective teletrial model which allowed us to complete recruitment at a high rate. The teletrial model is now being used in our other primary care trials as we continue to face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original languageEnglish
Article number605
Number of pages4
JournalTrials
Volume22
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Sept 2021

Keywords

  • Bowel cancer
  • Cancer prevention
  • Colorectal cancer
  • COVID-19
  • General practice
  • Primary care
  • Trial participant recruitment

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