BACKGROUND: Recruitment of participants for clinical trials requires considerable effort and cost. There is no research on the cost effectiveness of recruitment methods for an obesity prevention trial of young children. METHODS: This study determined the cost effectiveness of recruiting 70 families with a child aged 4 to 7 (5.9+/-1.3) years in Western New York from February 2003 to November 2004, for a 2-year randomized obesity prevention trial to reduce television watching in the home. RESULTS: Of the 70 randomized families, 65.7% (n=46) were obtained through direct mailings, 24.3% (n=17) were acquired through newspaper advertisements, 7.1% (n=5) from other sources (e.g., word of mouth), and 2.9% (n=2) through posters and brochures. Costs of each recruitment method were computed by adding the cost of materials, staff time, and media expenses. Cost effectiveness (money spent per randomized participant) was US $0 for other sources, US $227.76 for direct mailing, US $546.95 for newspaper ads, and US $3,020.84 for posters and brochures. CONCLUSION: Of the methods with associated costs, direct mailing was the most cost effective in recruiting families with young children, which supports the growing literature of the effectiveness of direct mailing.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Recruitment of participants for clinical trials requires considerable effort and cost. There is no research on the cost effectiveness of recruitment methods for an obesity prevention trial of young children. METHODS: This study determined the cost effectiveness of recruiting 70 families with a child aged 4 to 7 (5.9+/-1.3) years in Western New York from February 2003 to November 2004, for a 2-year randomized obesity prevention trial to reduce television watching in the home. RESULTS: Of the 70 randomized families, 65.7% (n=46) were obtained through direct mailings, 24.3% (n=17) were acquired through newspaper advertisements, 7.1% (n=5) from other sources (e.g., word of mouth), and 2.9% (n=2) through posters and brochures. Costs of each recruitment method were computed by adding the cost of materials, staff time, and media expenses. Cost effectiveness (money spent per randomized participant) was US $0 for other sources, US $227.76 for direct mailing, US $546.95 for newspaper ads, and US $3,020.84 for posters and brochures. CONCLUSION: Of the methods with associated costs, direct mailing was the most cost effective in recruiting families with young children, which supports the growing literature of the effectiveness of direct mailing.
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Authors: Richard R Rubin; Wilfred Y Fujimoto; David G Marrero; Tina Brenneman; Jeanne B Charleston; Sharon L Edelstein; Edwin B Fisher; Ruth Jordan; William C Knowler; Lynne C Lichterman; Melvin Prince; Patricia M Rowe Journal: Control Clin Trials Date: 2002-04
Authors: Susan D Brown; Paula N Partee; Juanran Feng; Charles P Quesenberry; Monique M Hedderson; Samantha F Ehrlich; Michaela Kiernan; Assiamira Ferrara Journal: Clin Trials Date: 2015-02-02 Impact factor: 2.486
Authors: Kerrie M Sanders; Amanda L Stuart; Elizabeth N Merriman; Meaghan L Read; Mark A Kotowicz; Doris Young; Roderick Taylor; Ian Blair-Holt; Alistair G Mander; Geoffrey C Nicholson Journal: BMC Med Res Methodol Date: 2009-11-25 Impact factor: 4.615