scholarly journals Challenges of patient recruitment within emergency departments for qualitative research: lessons learnt from the GPs in EDs study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delyth Price ◽  
Michelle Edwards ◽  
Andrew Carson-Stevens ◽  
Alison Cooper ◽  
Freya Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Patient Recruitment ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Emergency Department Setting ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Models Of Service Delivery

Abstract Background: At times of increasing pressure on emergency departments, and the need for research into different models of service delivery, little is known about how to recruit patients for qualitative research in emergency departments. We aimed to collect evidence on patients’ experiences of different models using general practitioners in emergency departments. Challenges were faced at all stages of patient recruitment, from identifying and inviting eligible patients, consenting them for participation, and finally to engaging them in interviews. Methods: By analysing processes, amendments and outcomes of recruitment methods, as well as conducting a thematic analysis of field-notes taken during research visits, this paper aimed to describe the factors which influenced patient recruitment in the GPs in EDs study, and make recommendations based on our learning. Results: We found the following factors influenced the success of patient recruitment in the emergency department setting: complicated or time-consuming electronic health record systems for identifying patients; narrow participant eligibility criteria; limited NHS research nurse support; and lack of face-to-face communication between researchers and eligible patients. Conclusions: This paper adds to the growing evidence for improving patient recruitment in different settings, with a particular focus on qualitative research in emergency departments. Our findings have implications for future studies attempting to recruit patients in similar settings.

scholarly journals Challenges of recruiting emergency department patients to a qualitative study: a thematic analysis of researchers’ experiences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delyth Price ◽  
Michelle Edwards ◽  
Andrew Carson-Stevens ◽  
Alison Cooper ◽  
Freya Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Patient Recruitment ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Emergency Department Patients ◽  
Models Of Service Delivery

Abstract Background: At times of increasing pressure on emergency departments, and the need for research into different models of service delivery, little is known about how to recruit patients for qualitative research in emergency departments. We report from one study which aimed to collect evidence on patients’ experiences of attending emergency departments with different models of general practitioners, but faced challenges in recruiting patients. This paper aims to identify and reflect on the challenges faced at all stages of patient recruitment, from identifying and inviting eligible patients, consenting them for participation and finally to engaging them in interviews and make recommendations based on our learning. Methods: A thematic analysis was carried out on field-notes taken during research visits and meeting minutes of discussions to review and improve patient recruitment throughout the study. Results: The following factors influenced the success of patient recruitment in the emergency department setting: complicated or time-consuming electronic health record systems for identifying patients; narrow participant eligibility criteria; limited research nurse support; and lack of face-to-face communication between researchers and eligible patients. Conclusions: This paper adds to the evidence for improving patient recruitment in different settings, with a focus on qualitative research in emergency departments. Our findings have implications for future studies attempting to recruit patients in similar settings.

scholarly journals Accuracy of self-referral in health anxiety: comparison of patients self-referring to internet-delivered treatment versus patients clinician-referred to face-to-face treatment

BJPsych Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ditte Hoffmann ◽  
Charlotte Ulrikka Rask ◽  
Erik Hedman-Lagerlöf ◽  
Trine Eilenberg ◽  
Lisbeth Frostholm
Keyword(s):  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Diagnostic Delay ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Symptom Profile ◽  
Mean Differences

Background Severe health anxiety is a chronic and costly disorder if untreated. Patient self-referral may lower barriers to treatment and decrease diagnostic delay. Aims This study evaluated the accuracy of self-referral for severe health anxiety and compared characteristics of patients self-referred to internet-delivered treatment with patients referred by a clinician to face-to-face treatment. Method Two trials in the same clinic employed different referral methods for health anxiety, namely self-referral and clinician-referral (trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01158430 and NCT02735434). The trials were conducted at different time points but with largely comparable eligibility criteria. The accuracy of the recruitment methods was compared by looking at the number of eligible patients in the two trials. Patients completed a baseline questionnaire and subsequently underwent a diagnostic interview by experienced clinicians. Mean differences in self-report and clinical data explored between-group demographic and clinical characteristics. Results In total, 101/151 (67%) self-referred patients were eligible compared with 126/254 (50%) clinician-referred patients (P = 0.001). Self-referred patients were 3.4 years older (P = 0.008) and had a somewhat higher educational level (P = 0.030). Patients who self-referred reported significantly higher levels of health anxiety, emotional distress and somatic symptoms compared with clinician-referred patients. Yet, they had less clinician-assessed comorbid anxiety disorders (P<0.001) and better physical health-related quality of life (P<0.001) suggesting a more distinct symptom profile. Conclusions Self-referral was found to be an accurate method to recruit highly relevant patients with treatment-demanding health anxiety. Thus, both self-referral and clinician-referral seem feasible and valid referral methods, but they may recruit patients with slightly different characteristics. Declaration of interest None.

Why Zumba?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Yeşer Eroglu
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Sports Management ◽  
Future Planning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Coaching Education ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
Consistency Rate

This study was conducted to determine the reasons behind the students’ preferring an activity that would teach them how to perform and teach Zumba effectively and safely as a leisure activity and to what extent the activity met their expectations. The Subjects:This qualitative research consisted of 22 face to face interviews with students of the Rumeli University Faculty of Sport Sciences, Coaching Education, Sports Management and Recreation departments. Materials and Method:The participants were selected with the convenience sampling method and consisted of 16 women and 6 men between the ages of 18-22 years. The Zumba event included 8 one hour Zumba classes given by a specialist in this area. The data was coded separately by two researchers and the consistency rate was found to be 75 percent. Descriptive and content analysis was used and transferred to NVIVO 10 software for data analysis. The themes of reasons for participating in and expectations of students from the Zumba classes that resulted from the interviews conducted prior to and following the event were collected and evaluated. Conclusions: As a result of the data analysis prior to the event, the desire to become a specialist, adding another dimension to their specialty, being ready to branch out, importance future planning, increased financial expectation and popularity of Zumbaemerged as the leading themes in choosing Zumba. The participant’s thoughts after the event were that their initial expectations were met and extra themes of health protection and entertainment were added as gains from the event.

Online, Asynchronous Data Collection in Qualitative Research

2019 ◽  
pp. 442-467
Author(s):  
Tracy Spencer ◽  
Linnea Rademaker ◽  
Peter Williams ◽  
Cynthia Loubier
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Data Collection Strategy ◽  
Time Distance ◽  
Privacy Issues

The authors discuss the use of online, asynchronous data collection in qualitative research. Online interviews can be a valuable way to increase access to marginalized participants, including those with time, distance, or privacy issues that prevent them from participating in face-to-face interviews. The resulting greater participant pool can increase the rigor and validity of research outcomes. The authors also address issues with conducting in-depth asynchronous interviews such as are needed in phenomenology. Advice from the field is provided for rigorous implementation of this data collection strategy. The authors include extensive excerpts from two studies using online, asynchronous data collection.

scholarly journals Conducting Population Health Research during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts and Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3320
Author(s):  
Amy R. Villarosa ◽  
Lucie M. Ramjan ◽  
Della Maneze ◽  
Ajesh George
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Residential Aged Care ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many changes, including restrictions on indoor gatherings and visitation to residential aged care facilities, hospitals and certain communities. Coupled with potential restrictions imposed by health services and academic institutions, these changes may significantly impact the conduct of population health research. However, the continuance of population health research is beneficial for the provision of health services and sometimes imperative. This paper discusses the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the conduct of population health research. This discussion unveils important ethical considerations, as well as potential impacts on recruitment methods, face-to-face data collection, data quality and validity. In addition, this paper explores potential recruitment and data collection methods that could replace face-to-face methods. The discussion is accompanied by reflections on the challenges experienced by the authors in their own research at an oral health service during the COVID-19 pandemic and alternative methods that were utilised in place of face-to-face methods. This paper concludes that, although COVID-19 presents challenges to the conduct of population health research, there is a range of alternative methods to face-to-face recruitment and data collection. These alternative methods should be considered in light of project aims to ensure data quality is not compromised.

scholarly journals Resilient Research in the Field: Insights and Lessons From Adapting Qualitative Research Projects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692110161
Author(s):  
Syahirah Abdul Rahman ◽  
Lauren Tuckerman ◽  
Tim Vorley ◽  
Cristian Gherhes
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Qualitative Research Methods ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Building Resilience ◽  
Digital Methods

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the implementation of unprecedented social distancing measures, restricting social interaction and with it the possibility for conducting face-to-face qualitative research. This paper provides lessons from a series of qualitative research projects that were adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure their continuation and completion. By reflecting on our experiences and discussing the opportunities and challenges presented by crises to the use of a number of qualitative research methods, we provide a series of insights and lessons for proactively building resilience into the qualitative research process. We show that reflexivity, responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility ensured continuity in the research projects and highlighted distinct advantages to using digital methods, providing lessons beyond the COVID-19 context. The paper concludes with reflections on research resilience and adaptation during crises.

scholarly journals Leveraging Real-World Data for the Selection of Relevant Eligibility Criteria for the Implementation of Electronic Recruitment Support in Clinical Trials

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 017-026
Author(s):  
Georg Melzer ◽  
Tim Maiwald ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Prokosch ◽  
Thomas Ganslandt
Keyword(s):  
Data Warehouse ◽  
Real World ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Patient Recruitment ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Health Records ◽  
World Data ◽  
Paper Chart ◽  
Data Elements

Abstract Background Even though clinical trials are indispensable for medical research, they are frequently impaired by delayed or incomplete patient recruitment, resulting in cost overruns or aborted studies. Study protocols based on real-world data with precisely expressed eligibility criteria and realistic cohort estimations are crucial for successful study execution. The increasing availability of routine clinical data in electronic health records (EHRs) provides the opportunity to also support patient recruitment during the prescreening phase. While solutions for electronic recruitment support have been published, to our knowledge, no method for the prioritization of eligibility criteria in this context has been explored. Methods In the context of the Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research (EHR4CR) project, we examined the eligibility criteria of the KATHERINE trial. Criteria were extracted from the study protocol, deduplicated, and decomposed. A paper chart review and data warehouse query were executed to retrieve clinical data for the resulting set of simplified criteria separately from both sources. Criteria were scored according to disease specificity, data availability, and discriminatory power based on their content and the clinical dataset. Results The study protocol contained 35 eligibility criteria, which after simplification yielded 70 atomic criteria. For a cohort of 106 patients with breast cancer and neoadjuvant treatment, 47.9% of data elements were captured through paper chart review, with the data warehouse query yielding 26.9% of data elements. Score application resulted in a prioritized subset of 17 criteria, which yielded a sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity 0.57 on EHR data (paper charts, 1.00 and 0.80) compared with actual recruitment in the trial. Conclusion It is possible to prioritize clinical trial eligibility criteria based on real-world data to optimize prescreening of patients on a selected subset of relevant and available criteria and reduce implementation efforts for recruitment support. The performance could be further improved by increasing EHR data coverage.

scholarly journals Strategies to Enhance Knowledge and Practical Skills of Triage amongst Nurses Working in the Emergency Departments of Rural Hospitals in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4471
Author(s):  
Thabo Arthur. Phukubye ◽  
Masenyani Oupa. Mbombi ◽  
Tebogo Maria. Mothiba
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Rural Hospitals ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Emergency Unit ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Interview Method ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Knowledge And Practice

Purpose: Lack of knowledge and practical skills on triage remains a global problem, especially within rural hospitals, and very little is known about enhancing the knowledge and skills of emergency nursing staff in rural hospitals of South Africa. The objective was to describe the perceived strategies for enhancing knowledge and practices of triage among nurses working in the emergency departments (EDs) of rural hospitals in South Africa. Research methods: A descriptive qualitative research design was applied to achieve the research objective. A non-probability sampling method was applied to select 17 professional nurses from rural hospitals. An unstructured face-to-face interview method was used to collect data. Data collected were analyzed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Results: The study findings highlighted the academic needs of nurses working in the ED of rural hospitals. Two themes emerged from this study; (1) The consistent description of the importance of triage training for emergency unit staff, and (2) The description of measures to enhance triage practices amongst emergency unit staff. Findings indicated that triage knowledge and practice remains a challenge, but with formulated strategies like continuous training by workshops, refresher courses, and offering a training module on triage, evaluation of developed guidelines and benchmarks is often enhanced. Conclusions: The study describes the strategies to enhance the conversion of knowledge and practice of triage amongst nurses working in the ED of rural hospitals. The paper argues that the knowledge and practical skills of nurses working in ED are enhanced through the provision of continuous training as workshops, triage module, evaluating the developed guidelines to implement triage, and benchmarking with other hospitals.

scholarly journals Use and Significance of Nursing Diagnosis in Hospital Emergencies: A Phenomenological Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9786
Author(s):  
Jose Miguel Cachón-Pérez ◽  
Purificación Gonzalez-Villanueva ◽  
Marta Rodriguez-Garcia ◽  
Oscar Oliva-Fernandez ◽  
Esther Garcia-Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Emergency Nurses ◽  
Nursing Diagnosis ◽  
Nursing Organizations ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological ◽  
Hospital Emergency Departments

Background: Professional nursing organizations recommend the use of nursing diagnosis to enhance and facilitate the standardization of care and the development of a common language used by nursing practitioners. In the clinical reality of hospital emergency departments, however, its use is controversial. The objectives of the research are (a) to explore the use of nursing diagnosis in hospital emergency departments, and (b) to describe the meaning of nursing diagnosis for hospital emergency nurses. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted. A purposeful sampling and snowball technique were used. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, researchers’ field notes, and documental analysis. An inductive analysis based on Giorgi´s proposal was used to identify significant emerging themes from interviews and field notes. Seventeen participants with a mean age of 40 were recruited. Results: Three themes were identified. The results showed how the use of nursing diagnosis in hospital emergency departments depends on nurses to apply a working methodology in their practice, along with other dimensions such as the characteristics of emergency care, the type of health problems, and the complexity of care. Conclusions: The use of standardized language in emergency departments is complex due to the overcrowded nature of care in these settings.

scholarly journals A novel approach to conducting clinical trials in the community setting: Utilizing patient-driven platforms and social media to drive web-based patient recruitment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle Applequist ◽  
Cristina Burroughs ◽  
Artemio Ramirez ◽  
Peter A. Merkel ◽  
Marc E. Rothenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Rare Disease ◽  
Patient Recruitment ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Marketing Theory ◽  
Disease Category ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Research Studies

Abstract Background: Participant recruitment for clinical research studies remains a significant challenge for researchers. Novel approaches to recruitment are necessary to ensure that populations are easier to reach. In the context of rare diseases, social media provides a unique opportunity for connecting with patient groups that have representatively lower diagnosis rates when compared with more common maladies. We describe the implementation of designing a patient-centered approach to message design for the purposes of recruiting patients for clinical research studies for rare disease populations. Methods: Using an iterative research approach, we analyzed our previous experience of using web-based direct-to-patient recruitment methods to compare these online strategies with traditional center of excellence recruitment strategies. After choosing six research studies for inclusion in the previous study, in-depth, online interviews ( n = 37) were conducted with patients represented in each disease category to develop and test recruitment message strategies for social media and a Web-based platform for patients to access study information and pre-screen. Finally, relationships were established with Patient Advocacy Groups representing each rare disease category to ensure further dissemination of recruitment materials via their own social media networks. Results: Guided by social marketing theory, we created and tested various recruitment message designs. Three key message concepts preferred by patients emerged: (1) infographic; (2) positive emotional messages; and (3) educational information for sharing. A base study website that was created and edited based on qualitative user-testing. This website includes the option for potential participants to pre-screen and determine their eligibility for the study. Conclusions: Study participants report wanting to be involved in the design and implementation of recruitment approaches for clinical research studies. The application of the aforementioned methods could aide in the evolution of clinical research practices for the recruitment of both rare and common diseases, where patient-centric approaches can help to create targeted messages designs that participants pre-test and support.

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