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A cost‐effective approach to increasing participation in patient‐reported outcomes research in cancer: A randomized trial of video invitations
Author(s) -
Signorelli Christina,
Wakefield Claire E.,
McLoone Jordana K.,
Mateos Marion K.,
Aaronson Neil K.,
Lavoipierre Ange,
Cohn Richard J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.33244
Subject(s) - generalizability theory , medicine , randomized controlled trial , test (biology) , randomization , psychology , developmental psychology , paleontology , biology
Maximizing participation in cancer research is important to improve the validity and generalizability of research findings. We conducted a four‐arm randomized controlled trial to test the impact of a novel video invitation on participant response. We invited childhood cancer survivors and parents of survivors <16 years to complete questionnaires. We compared response rates to an invitation letter (control) vs receiving the letter plus a video invitation on a flash drive presented by a childhood cancer survivor, a pediatric oncologist or a researcher. We explored factors associated with viewing the video and examined the impact of enclosing the USB on study costs. Overall 54% (634/1176) of questionnaires were returned. Participants who received a video invitation on a USB were more likely to return the questionnaire than those who did not (58% vs 47%, P < .001). Participation rate did not significantly differ by video presenter. Forty‐seven percent of participants who received a USB reported watching the video, of whom 48% reported that the video influenced their decision to participate. Participants with a lower income (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.25‐0.74, P = .002) were more likely to report watching the video. Participants who received a video invitation required significantly fewer reminder calls than those who only received a written invitation (mean = 1.6 vs 1.1 calls, P < .001), resulting in a 25% recruitment cost‐saving for the study. Adding a USB with a video study invitation to recruitment packages is a cost‐effective way of improving study participation. This is important in an era of declining study participation and underrepresentation of vulnerable populations in research.