ArticleBMJ open2014
Use of strategies to improve retention in primary care randomised trials: a qualitative study with in-depth interviews.
Article in BMJ open, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Comparison of cognitive behaviour therapy versus activity management, both delivered remotely, to treat paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: the UK FITNET-NHS RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Trial
- Surgical fixation compared with cast immobilisation for adults with a bicortical fracture of the scaphoid waist: the SWIFFT RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Engaging Patient and Caregiver Partners in Codeveloping a Patient Educational Video for Improving Clostridioides difficile Infection Education: Participatory Co-Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- The ESMO/SIOG Cancer in the Elderly Working Group pragmatic strategies for clinical trial designs and endpoints in older adults with cancer.ESMO open · 2026Review
- The financial impact of participant attrition from randomised trials: a case-study from the Occupational Therapist Intervention Study (OTIS).Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Article
- How do trial teams plan for retention during the design stage of the trial? A scoping review.Trials · 2023Article
- Establishing Requirements for Technology to Support Clinical Trial Retention: Systematic Scoping Review and Analysis Using Self-determination Theory.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Article
- From cohort to community: The emotional work of birthday cards in the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, 1946-2018.History of the human sciences · 2022Article
- Exploring Primary Care Clinicians' Views about How Best to Implement a Potential Trial around Point-of-Care Tests for Common Infections in South Africa.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Rapid Analgesia for Prehospital hip Disruption (RAPID): findings from a randomised feasibility study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2019Article
- Inclusion of special populations in clinical research: important considerations and guidelines.Journal of clinical and translational research · 2018Article
- A feasibility study of a novel, task-specific movement training intervention for women with patellofemoral pain.Clinical rehabilitation · 2018Article
- Best practice guidance for the use of strategies to improve retention in randomized trials developed from two consensus workshops.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2017Article
- Use of a motivational interviewing-informed strategy in group orientations to improve retention and intervention attendance in a randomized controlled trial.Health education research · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo explore the strategies used to improve retention in primary care randomised trials.
designQualitative in-depth interviews and thematic analysis.
participants29 UK primary care chief and principal investigators, trial managers and research nurses.
methodsIn-depth face-to-face interviews.
resultsPrimary care researchers use incentive and communication strategies to improve retention in trials, but were unsure of their effect. Small monetary incentives were used to increase response to postal questionnaires. Non-monetary incentives were used although there was scepticism about the impact of these on retention. Nurses routinely used telephone communication to encourage participants to return for trial follow-up. Trial managers used first class post, shorter questionnaires and improved questionnaire designs with the aim of improving questionnaire response. Interviewees thought an open trial design could lead to biased results and were negative about using behavioural strategies to improve retention. There was consensus among the interviewees that effective communication and rapport with participants, participant altruism, respect for participant's time, flexibility of trial personnel and appointment schedules and trial information improve retention. Interviewees noted particular challenges with retention in mental health trials and those involving teenagers.
conclusionsThe findings of this qualitative study have allowed us to reflect on research practice around retention and highlight a gap between such practice and current evidence. Interviewees describe acting from experience without evidence from the literature, which supports the use of small monetary incentives to improve the questionnaire response. No such evidence exists for non-monetary incentives or first class post, use of which may need reconsideration. An exploration of barriers and facilitators to retention in other research contexts may be justified.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.