Trial reportBMC medical research methodology2020
A randomized trial of mail and email recruitment strategies for a physician survey on clinical trial accrual.
Trial report in BMC medical research methodology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Response is increased using postal rather than electronic questionnaires - new results from an updated Cochrane Systematic Review.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Pooled it
- Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Email-Based Recruitment Into the Health eHeart Study: Cohort Analysis of Invited Eligible Patients.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- Randomized Study of Survey Recruitment Strategies for Parents of Autistic Children.Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & PractitionersTrial
- When Do Physicians Trust AI? The Role of Clinical Context in Decision Support: SMART vignette study.Research square · 2026Article
- Design and Performance of an Email-Based Patient Recruitment Campaign in Primary Care Research: Formative Secondary Analysis.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Online survey assessing US primary care physicians' attitudes toward AI use in clinical administrative tasks.BMJ health & care informatics · 2026Article
- Article
- Radiation and Medical Oncology Perspectives on Oligometastatic Disease Treatment.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2025Article
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Provider Attitudes and Beliefs About the Use of Acupuncture for Their Patients.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- An Explorative Qualitative Study of the Role of a Genetic Counsellor to Parents Receiving a Diagnosis After a Positive Newborn Bloodspot Screening.International journal of neonatal screening · 2025Article
- Parent-Child Agreement on Fatigue in Pediatric Otolaryngology Patients.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2025Article
- Article
- Physician and Practice Characteristics Influencing Telemedicine Uptake Among Frontline Clinicians in the Early COVID-19 Pandemic Response: National Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Characterizing participants who respond to text, email, phone calls, or postcards in a SARS-CoV-2 prevalence study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Understanding Physician's Perspectives on AI in Health Care: Protocol for a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Vignette Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Interprofessional Training on Substance Misuse and Addiction: A Longitudinal Assessment of a Brazilian Experience.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Technology-assisted adaptive recruitment strategy for a large nation-wide COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity study in Brunei.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Survey on arterial hypertension management: a report from the ESC Council for Cardiology Practice and the ESC Council on Hypertension.European heart journal open · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPatient participation in cancer clinical trials is suboptimal. A challenge to capturing physicians' insights about trials has been low response to surveys. We conducted a study using varying combinations of mail and email to recruit a nationally representative sample of medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists to complete a survey on trial accrual.
methodsWe randomly assigned eligible physicians identified from the American Medical Association MasterFile (n = 13,251) to mail- or email-based recruitment strategies. Mail-based recruitment included a survey packet with: (1) cover letter describing the survey and inviting participation; (2) paper copy of the survey and postage-paid return envelope; and (3) a web link for completing the survey online. Email-based recruitment included an e-mail describing the survey and inviting participation, along with the web link to the survey, and a reminder postcard 2 weeks later.
resultsResponse was higher for mail-based (11.8, 95% CI 11.0-12.6%) vs. email-based (4.5, 95% CI 4.0-5.0%) recruitment. In email-based recruitment, only one-quarter of recipients opened the email, and even fewer clicked on the link to complete the survey. Most physicians in mail-based recruitment responded after the first invitation (362 of 770 responders, 47.0%). A higher proportion of responders vs. non-responders were young (ages 25-44 years), men, and radiation or surgical (vs. medical) oncologists.
conclusionsMost physicians assigned to mail-based recruitment actually completed the survey online via the link provided in the cover letter, and those in email-based recruitment did not respond until they received a reminder postcard by mail. Providing the option to return a paper survey or complete it online may have further increased participation in the mail-based group, and future studies should examine how combinations of delivery mode and return options affect physicians' response to surveys.
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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.