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Lessons Learned in Participant Recruitment and Retention: The EXCITE Trial

S Blanton, PT, DPT, NCS, is Physical Therapist and Associate Director of Research Projects, Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, 1441 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30332 (USA)
DM Morris, PT, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala
MG Prettyman, PT, DPT, is Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Hampton University, Hampton, Va. At time of this study, she was affiliated with the Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif
K McCulloch, PT, PhD, NCS, is Associate Professor and Director, Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
S Redmond, OT/L, is Associate Director of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC
KE Light, PT, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla
SL Wolf, PT, PhD, FAPTA, is Professor, Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine

Address all correspondence to Dr Blanton at: Sarah_Blanton{at}emoryhealthcare.org

Participant recruitment is considered the most difficult aspect of the research process. Despite the integral role of recruitment in randomized clinical trials, publication of data defining the recruitment effort is not routine in rehabilitation initiatives. The recruitment process for the Extremity Constraint-Induced Therapy Evaluation (EXCITE) trial illustrates obstacles to and strategies for participant accrual and retention that are inherent in rehabilitation clinical trials. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness of the multiple facets of recruitment necessary for successful clinical trials, thus supporting the continued development of evidence-based practice in physical therapy. The Recruitment Index is presented as a variable to measure recruitment efficacy. In addition, ethical aspects of recruitment are explored, including informed consent and the concept of therapeutic misconception.

Key Words: Informed consent • Randomized clinical trials • Recruitment • Rehabilitation • Research ethics • Stroke

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