Table 2 Recruitment strategies employed in the BeWEL trial
Strategy number | Strategy | Date started (month number) |
|---|---|---|
1 | New sites approached for study inclusion. | November 2010 (month 1) |
2 | Research nurse telephones non-responders (suggested by [4, 5]). | January 2011 (month 3) |
3 | BMI cut-off at telephone screening reduced to 24 kg/m2 to avoid excluding participants who had underestimated their BMI. Such participants were invited to visit the research centre to have their eligibility confirmed. | January 2011 (month 3) |
4 | Frequency of visits by the trial manager to research nurses and on-site NHS staff increased to monthly. | May 2011 (month 7) |
5 | Brief participant information leaflet introduced and printed on high-quality paper with NHS logos. This was sent with the invitation letter in hand-written envelopes (suggested by [12, 13]). | June 2011 (month 8) |
6 | The local consultants’ names and their endorsement of the study were added to the invitation letter. | June 2011 (month 8) |
7 | Eligible participants unable to travel to a study site for assessments were offered home visits. | July 2011 (month 9) |
8 | Letters of congratulation were sent to sites for good recruitment. | November 2011 (month 13) |