Improving the recruitment activity of clinicians in randomised controlled trials - a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Poor recruitment to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is a widespread problem. Provision of interventions aimed at supporting or incentivising clinicians may improve recruitment to RCTs. OBJECTIVES: To quantify the effects of strategies aimed at improving the recruitment activity of clinicians in RCTs, complemented with a synthesis of qualitative evidence related to clinicians’ attitudes towards recruiting to RCTs. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of English and non-English articles identified from: The Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, Ebsco CINAHL, Index to Theses and Open SIGLE from 2001 to March 2011. Additional reports were identified through citation searches of included articles. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Quantitative studies were included if they evaluated interventions aimed at improving the recruitment activity of clinicians, or compared recruitment by different groups of clinicians. Information about host trial, study design, partici...