Trial reportBMC medical research methodology2020
Recruiting men from across the socioeconomic spectrum via GP registers and community outreach to a weight management feasibility randomised controlled trial.
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. It is linked to trial NCT03040518 (Feasibility Study of How Best to Engage Obese Men in Narrative SMS), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 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.
Feasibility Study of How Best to Engage Obese Men in Narrative SMS (Short Message System) and Incentive Interventions for Weight Loss, to Inform a Future Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness Trial
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review examining socioeconomic factors in trials of interventions for men that report weight as an outcome.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Pooled it
- Secondary analysis of the Game of Stones trial for men with obesity: examining moderator effects and exploratory outcomes.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- The Influence of Relationships Within Behavioral Weight Management Interventions: An Overview.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Feasibility and Acceptability of Behavioral Weight Loss Programs for Men in Trade and Labor Occupations: A Pilot Study.Obesity science & practice · 2025Article
- MALAMA: Cultivating Food Sovereignty through Backyard Aquaponics with Native Hawaiian Families.Genealogy · 2024Article
- 'A Different Ball Game': Adaptation of a men's health program for implementation in rural Australia.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMen, particularly those living in disadvantaged areas, are less likely to participate in weight management programmes than women despite similar levels of excess weight. Little is known about how best to recruit men to weight management interventions. This paper describes patient and public involvement in pre-trial decisions relevant to recruitment and aims to report on recruitment to the subsequent men-only weight management feasibility trial, including the: i) acceptability and feasibility of recruitment; and ii) baseline sample characteristics by recruitment strategy.
methodsMen with BMI ≥30 kg/m
results105 men were recruited within four months (community n = 60, GP letter n = 45). Community outreach took 2.3 recruiter hours per participant and GP letters had an opt-in rate of 10.2% (n = 90/879). More men were interested than could be accommodated. Most participants (60%) lived in more disadvantaged areas. Compared to community outreach, men recruited via GP letters were older (mean = 57 vs 48 years); more likely to report an obesity-related co-morbidity (87% vs 44%); and less educated (no formal qualifications, 32% vs 10%, degree educated 11% vs 41%). Recruitment strategies were acceptable, a sensitive approach and trusting relationships with recruiters valued, and the 'catchy' study name drew attention.
conclusionsTargeted community outreach and GP letters were acceptable strategies that successfully recruited participants to a men-only weight management feasibility trial. Both strategies engaged men from disadvantaged areas, a typically underserved population. Using two recruitment strategies produced samples with different health risk profiles, which could add value to research where either primary or secondary prevention is of interest. Further work is required to examine how these strategies could be implemented and sustained in practice.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03040518 , 2nd February 2017.
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