research day - University of Toronto Department of Obstetrics and ...

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ABSTRACT #P-H4
RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES TO COMBAT MID-TRIAL FATIGUE
Christine Tassopoulos[O](1), Dalah Mason(1), Sheila Hewson(1), Elizabeth Asztalos(1), Jon
Barrett(2).
(1)Centre for Mother, Infant, and Child Research, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,
(2)Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Objective: To highlight recruitment initiatives implemented by the Twin Birth Study team to
combat mid-trial fatigue.
Methods: The Twin Birth Study (TBS) is an international multicentre randomised controlled trial
which seeks to determine in women expecting twins, whether a policy of planned caesarean section
decreases the likelihood of perinatal or neonatal mortality or serious neonatal morbidity, compared
to a policy of planned vaginal birth.
Recruitment for TBS began in December 2003 with a goal of recruiting 2800 women pregnant
with twins. After nearly four years of recruitment, the study had 80 centres from 20 countries and
had recruited approximately 1200 women. Although the recruitment rate had increased gradually
over the first three years, at year four it had begun to plateau despite the introduction of new sites.
To combat what appeared to be mid-trial fatigue, the DCC is undertaking a variety of initiatives to
try to overturn the slowdown in recruitment. These initiatives include contacting sites that do not
recruit during any 3 month period, teleconferences among centres within similar time zones,
newsletter tips on recruitment, distributing new promotional items, and weekly emails to
summarize recruitment. Additional site visits are being planned and key collaborators will be
invited to join a Steering Committee meeting to discuss recruitment and networking opportunities
to try to enlist additional centres. Finally, we have distributed new recruitment packages which
involved a redesigned poster and a USB key containing slides to enable site investigators to present
the Twin Birth Study locally to their colleagues.
Results: Through the implementation of these strategies we hope to reverse the recruitment
slowdown common to studies of long duration. The presentation will explore the success of the
recruitment initiatives undertaken by the Data Coordinating Centre.
Conclusions: The initiatives implemented were very successful. TBS currently has 90 active
centres, and over 1700 recruits. We are hopeful that recruitment will be completed within a two
year time period.
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research