Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33557951›Full record

ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2021

The effect of animated consent material on participants' willingness to enrol in a placebo-controlled surgical trial: a protocol for a randomised feasibility study.

Elizabeth Nelson, Cade Shadbolt, Samantha Bunzli, Angela Cochrane, Peter Choong, Michelle Dowsey

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Elizabeth NelsonThe University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 2 Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia.
Cade ShadboltThe University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 2 Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia.
Samantha BunzliThe University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 2 Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia.
Angela CochraneDepartment of Orthopaedics, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 3 Daly Wing, 35 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, Melbourne, 3065, VIC, Australia.
Peter ChoongThe University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 2 Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia.
Michelle DowseyThe University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Level 2 Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia. mmdowsey@unimelb.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9708-5308
The University of Melbourne · AUSt Vincent's Hospital Melbourne · AU

Funding

The University of Melbourne Seeding Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlacebo-controlled surgical trials are recognised as the gold standard way to test the efficacy of a surgical procedure. Despite a rise in arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD) surgeries for the treatment of shoulder pain, only two placebo-controlled surgical trials have been conducted. These trials encountered significant recruitment challenges, threatening the external validity of findings. Difficulties with recruitment are common in clinical trials and likely to be amplified in placebo-controlled surgical trials. This mixed method feasibility trial aims to address the following questions: (i) Feasibility: What proportion of patients who have consented to undergo ASD report that they would be willing to enrol in a placebo-controlled trial for this procedure? (ii) Optimisation: Can patients' willingness to enrol in, or understanding of, such a trial be improved by supplementing written consent materials with a brief visual animation that outlines the details of the trial? And (iii) exploration: What factors influence patients stated willingness to enrol in such a trial, and how do they believe the recruitment process could be improved?

methodsThis study aims to recruit 80 patients on the waiting list for ASD. Participants will be randomised (1:1) to either view a brief video animation explaining the hypothetical placebo-controlled trial in addition to written information or to written information only. Participants in both groups will be required to state if they would be willing to opt-in to the hypothetical ASD trial after immediately being presented with the consent material and again 1 week after completion of the consent process. Patients in both groups will also be required to complete a measure of trial literacy. Twenty participants will be purposively sampled to take part in an embedded qualitative study exploring understanding of trial concepts and factors contributing to willingness to opt-in. DISCUSSION: This feasibility study will provide evidence for optimising participant recruitment into a placebo-controlled trial of ASD by consenting patients using animated trial information in addition to written information. This pilot and feasibility data may also be relevant to placebo-controlled surgical trials more broadly, which are characterised by recruitment challenges.

trial registrationANZCTR, ACTRN12620001132932 , date October 30, 2020.

Indexed as

Arthroscopic subacromial decompressionFeasibilityInformed consentOrthopaedicsPlacebo-controlled surgical trialRecruitmentSham surgery

Identifiers

PMID33557951
PMCPMC7869245
OpenAlexW3127465652

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.