Checklist for keeping collaborators' interest
Collaborators’ commitment to the trial and their interest in its activities
must be high during the progress of the trial if it is to succeed. All the
trial activities must be continuously monitored and some practical measures
must be taken into account during the preparation and conduction of the trial:
1. Be available!
- If possible, book a physical space/office, or a phone line/fax number,
or an e-mail address exclusive for the trial where collaborators can contact
you.
- If necessary for the trial purposes, get a 24-hour on call (or fax)
service to deal with trial queries (Consider costs of personnel, toll free
phone calls, mobiles, beepers, etc.).
- A Web site dedicated to the trial (updated with information about trial
progress on recruitment and follow-up, discussion forums, advises for main
problems detected, etc.) would be helpful.
- Respond to collaborators’ queries/demands as soon as you can.
2. Simplify the trial procedures!
- Get available and identifiable all trial material/documents (labelled
packs/containers /booklets/forms that need to be placed in accessible and
safe places according to the trial purposes).
- Disseminate the protocol and the manual of operation to all collaborators
(User-friendly, attractive and stylish material, with clear guidance on how
to use them).
- Minimise research/practise differences, consider collaborators’ time
demands, the need for extra/especial training, etc. (Pragmatic trials must
have pragmatic management procedures).
- Avoid red tape barriers between the collaborating centres and you (toll
free numbers, freepost for returning forms, multiple mailshots).
3. Keep collaborators informed!
- Schedule periodic meetings for all trial personnel at the centres/hospitals,
as well as at regional, national, and international levels, if appropriate
(Consider costs of travel, booking and organisation).
- Distribute periodic progress reports and/or trial newsletters with
updated information of patient recruitment and follow-up, news, comments,
advises on how to deal with problems systematically detected during the conduction
of the trial, etc. (Consider costs of document preparation, printing, mailing,
etc).
4. Keep in touch!
- Perform site visits to centres where particular difficulties arise
(involve those key people of your team that can help/solve the problem: technician,
programmer, nurse, social worker, physician, etc.).
- Phone, e-mail, fax, or mail regularly all the collaborating centres
during the trial.
- Especially in long term studies, ask for queries at the moment in which
they come up (long lists of outstanding data/queries at the end of the trial
are more difficult to be resolved).
5. Congratulate people for achieved goals!
- Consider incentives for achieving targets such as certificates, mugs,
pens, posters, congratulation cards, invitations to participate in meetings,
etc.
- Give involvement and/or credit in publications at both, personal and
institutional level (Preparation of reports and papers during the course
of the trial, execution of ancillary studies, investigators’ participation
in the analysis of results and in writing or presenting papers concerning
the trial, recognition and acknowledgements, etc.).
Back to Post-recruitment retention
strategies
This page was last updated 13th August 2003.