Table 2 Recruitment strategies and reason for success

Fast-track scheduling

Shortened time for entry into the clinic and subsequently to recruitment

Research meeting recruitment reviews

Reminder to clinicians of the study entry criteria every Monday morning before the week’s clinics, increasing real-time recruitment

Clinical repository enrollment

Allowed creation of reminder sheets for recruitment into the exercise study at the time of the patient’s clinic visit

Contiguous clinic and research space

Study coordinators could meet with the potential subject immediately at the time of the clinic visit

Wait-listed control group

All patients knew that they would be receiving an exercise intervention

Local exercise and paid gym memberships

Patients could exercise locally and reduce the need to drive into a high traffic urban center

Heart rate monitors could be mailed back to study team

Alleviated the need for patients to travel back to the research clinic to return equipment

Multiple neurologists on the study

Allowed for in-person recruitment and more options for research visit scheduling at all times by a study neurologist

Experienced RN study coordinator

Facilitated recruitment by multiple techniques: support groups, social media, and after hours

Focused minority recruitment training

Raised investigator awareness and resulted in increased numbers of minorities recruited

De novo PD population

May be more motivated to participate in an intensive one-year exercise study due to a milder phenotype

Outreach to local neurologists

Increased the numbers of patients referred from the community for recruitment

Parkinson disease 101 course started

Focus on de novo Parkinson disease allowed for targeted recruitment at the quarterly seminars