Abstract
Study design:
Descriptive report.
Objectives:
To describe screening to recruitment (S:R) ratios and discuss their use for planning and implementing research among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Methods:
We calculated S:R ratios for SCI research by study methodology and nature of the exposure/intervention for 25 studies previously conducted in a tertiary SCI rehabilitation facility. Study methodologies included ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs), nine cohort studies and six panel studies. Exposures included seven rehabilitation interventions, and three drug studies, ten telephone interviews/chart abstractions (TI/CA) and five surveys. A S:R ratio was calculated for each study methodology, and exposure type, by dividing the number of consenting individuals who underwent screening by the number of eligible recruited participants enrolled in the study.
Results:
In terms of design, RCTs had the highest median S:R ratio (3:1), followed by cohort studies (2:1) and panel studies (2:1). In terms of intervention type, drug studies had the largest median S:R ratio (5:1), followed in descending order by rehabilitation studies (2:1), TI/CAs studies (2:1) and surveys (2:1).
Conclusions:
Reported S:R ratios varied substantially with study methodology and the associated study intervention exposure. Awareness of S:R ratios may assist researchers in estimating recruitment timelines, personnel needs and study budgets for a required sample size based on the planned study methodology and intended study exposure. We advocate for the routine reporting of S:R ratios to inform the success of future SCI research.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF Central Recruitment Grant #2011-SCI-Mentor-884). We acknowledge the support of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, which received funding under the Provincial Rehabilitation Research Program from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Ontario during the conduct of many of the studies whose data are presented. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry. We wish to thank the participants in all included studies. Due to site-specific reporting, sample sizes may differ to those obtained from the full study results. L. Giangregorio received an Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Research and Innovation, and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award.
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Craven, B., Balioussis, C., Hitzig, S. et al. Use of screening to recruitment ratios as a tool for planning and implementing spinal cord injury rehabilitation research. Spinal Cord 52, 764–768 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2014.126
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2014.126
