Principal Findings
We found that the following interdependent and interacting factors contributed to low patient recruitment for this qualitative study in the emergency department setting: (1) complicated or time-consuming EHR systems; (2) narrow eligibility criteria; (3) limited contact with/ availability of research nurses or other support staff; and (4) lack of face-to-face communication between researchers and patients. Amendments made to our methods did not improve recruitment substantially: 2% of patients invited before amendments were interviewed, and 4% of patients invited after amendments were interviewed.
Narrow eligibility criteria limited the number of patients who could be identified and invited. This made searching for eligible patients on already complicated EHR systems even more time consuming. Both factors made our recruitment processes time consuming, meaning research nurses could not always commit enough time to supporting patient recruitment, making engagement in patient recruitment less feasible for case study sites. Limited availability of research nurses was also due to the small size of our study, as departments are more likely to allocate resources to large clinical trials and commercial studies where more patients will be recruited, and therefore more accruals (monetary credits) will be obtained. These factors all interacted to limit the number of patients identified and invited to take part in the study.
In terms of recruiting patients once they had been invited, we believe that a lack of face-to-face communication between researchers and patients meant that invitations to participate were impersonal, easily ignored and could lead to patient wariness about participation.
Strength and weaknesses of this paper
The experience reported in this paper is helpful for understanding the reasons for low patient recruitment in the GPs in EDs study and wider studies in similar settings. By using mixed methods of evaluation to analyse meeting minutes, in-depth field notes and recruitment methods, figures and amendments, this paper gives an insight into the reasons for low recruitment, and highlights ways to improve patient recruitment in future studies using a similar setting. However, we were unable to obtain data from those who ignored invitations or consented but then declined, to understand reasons for not participating. The findings in this paper are based on one study’s experiences, and further evidence is needed.
Context of other literature
The findings from this paper fit with the current literature surrounding patient recruitment in research. Studies have found that narrow eligibility criteria can restrict patient recruitment, as it limits the number of patients who can be invited and thus interviewed, as well as slowing down and often complicating the process of identifying eligible patients [4]. This is consistent with our experience in the GPs in EDs study, as it was often difficult to find suitable numbers of eligible patients within time constraints available to us.
Studies have identified that if preparatory work (e.g. helping to screen and identifying appropriate patients, preparing appropriate recruitment materials, informing relevant staff members about the study) can be carried out by study members (e.g. research staff, study support staff), then the burden on hospital staff is lessened, and this can be key to ensuring successful engagement of staff and recruitment of patients [2]. Furthermore, having other priorities and not having much time to dedicate to a study is a known barrier to hospital staff being able to help with patient recruitment [3]. In the GPs in EDs study, support of research nurses or other staff at hospitals was key to identifying and inviting appropriate numbers of patients.
Face-to-face communication is valued by research participants, and informing patients (and their family members) of the research in person allows rapport to be built, in an open and trustful manner, and will increase the likelihood of the patient engaging in the research [6, 5]. Again, this is supported by our experiences, as we found higher participation among patients invited in person rather than by post, albeit with a small sample size. Previous research has successfully used “informal interviewing” as a practical technique for gaining patient perspectives, in person, in busy emergency departments [9]. Informal interviewing involves informal conversations with participants to enable more open discussions than formal interviewing, making the process of gathering data on patient experience easier and faster than formal interviewing methods [9].
Future research indicated after this study
While we have been able to identify key factors which restricted the ability to identify and invite patients into the study, challenges were faced in terms of identifying patients’ reasons for declining participation once invited. Future research could explore emergency department patients’ possible reasons for not taking part in research, to develop patient recruitment methods that encourage participation. Furthermore, the learning from this paper comes only from one study’s experiences and could be formally evaluated in further larger studies or clinical trials. Further research is also needed into how researchers can best work with patient and public involvement representatives to increase patient recruitment in different settings [10].