Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 22:15:100424.
doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100424. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Knowledge and use of recruitment support tools among study coordinators at an academic medical center: The Novel Approaches to Recruitment Planning Study

Ebony Scott  1 , Bryan McComb  1 , Howard Trachtman  1 , Lois Mannon  1 , Peri Rosenfeld  2 , Rachel Thornton  1 , Nassira Bougrab  1 , Scott Sherman  1   3 , Aisha Langford  1
Affiliations

Knowledge and use of recruitment support tools among study coordinators at an academic medical center: The Novel Approaches to Recruitment Planning Study

Ebony Scott et al. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. .

Abstract

Background: Study coordinators play an essential role on study teams; however, there remains a paucity of research on the supports and services they need to effectively recruit and retain study participants.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 147 study coordinators from a large academic medical center. Survey items assessed barriers and facilitators to recruitment and retention, anxiety about reaching enrollment numbers, confidence for talking to potential study participants about research involvement, awareness and use of CTSA resources, and PI involvement with recruitment planning.

Results: Significant associations were found between anxiety about reaching target enrollment numbers and whether the study coordinator was the primary person responsible for developing a recruitment strategy. Three years or more serving as a study coordinator and levels of anxiety for reaching enrollment numbers was also significant.

Conclusion: More institutional level supports and formal training opportunities are needed to enhance study coordinators' effectiveness to recruit participants.

Keywords: Academic medical centers; Clinical trials as topic; Cross-sectional studies; National center for advancing translational sciences (U.S.); Patient selection; Research personnel.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number one barrier to recruitment.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
What would make Recruitment Easier?.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fisher J.A., Kalbaugh C.A. Altruism in clinical research: coordinators' orientation to their professional roles. Nurs. Outlook. May-Jun 2012;60(3):143–148. 148.e141. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Davis A.M., Hull S.C., Grady C., Wilfond B.S., Henderson G.E. The invisible hand in clinical research: the study coordinator's critical role in human subjects protection. J. Law Med. Ethics. 2002;30(3):411–419. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Speicher L.A., Fromell G., Avery S. The critical need for academic health centers to assess the training, support, and career development requirements of clinical research coordinators: recommendations from the clinical and translational science award research coordinator taskforce. Clin. Transl. Sci. 2012;5(6):470–475. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fisher J.A. Co‐ordinating ‘ethical’clinical trials: the role of research coordinators in the contract research industry. Sociol. Health Illn. 2006;28(6):678–694. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rico-Villademoros F., Hernando T., Sanz J.-L. The role of the clinical research coordinator–data manager–in oncology clinical trials. BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 2004;4(1) - PMC - PubMed