Study Recruitment & Retention

Study recruitment

We offer the following programs and tools to assist study teams with development, review, and improvement of study recruitment plans.

Consultation

The CTSI can assist study teams with development, review, and improvement of recruitment plans. We can perform a root-cause analysis to identify obstacles in recruitment. In addition, we can help determine optimal recruitment strategies by analyzing variables such as patient population, medical condition being researched, personnel, equipment, budget, and more. Schedule a consultation here.

Programs & Tools

The University’s Consent to Contact initiative is a program by which UHealth patients can consent to be contacted about clinical study opportunities for which they qualify.

From this pool, researchers can search and identify potential willing research participants who meet their study criteria. By following a 4 step process, researchers can contact patients and begin the recruitment process.

University of Miami researchers can search and identify potential willing research participants who meet their study criteria and request a patient contact list through the process outlined below. Before initiating your request to obtain a list of participants through the Consent to Contact initiative, please make sure you have the following information. If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to our team via the contact information at the bottom.

Perform Feasibility Analysis

  • Perform a feasibility check/query using existing tools (e.g., URIDE, Slicer Dicer) to verify whether UHealth has patients meeting your study inclusion/exclusion criteria
    • Helpful Resource: Steps To Download Feasiblity Report from URIDE (PDF)
    • Slicer Dicer User Guide – A basic SlicerDicer training video and related slide deck are available in our webinar platform. First time users will need to register for an account with your University of Miami email address. Once registered, follow the link and click “Enroll me” to view the video and materials.

Determine Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Utilize search terms and/or determine the applicable Diagnosis (ICD-10/ICD-9) and Procedure Codes (CPT) as well as other relevant criteria (e.g., age limits, providers, locations, date range of chart information – encounter, diagnosis, lab value, medications, treatment) for the population of interest.

Obtain IRB Approval

The IRB reviews the recruitment plans/methods of research studies to make sure the plan complies with HIPAA and institutional requirement. IRB will determine whether Consent to Contact initiative is an appropriate recruitment method for your study. The Human Subjects Research Office website lists the steps and requirements when describing the use of Consent of Contact in the study protocol.

Study team members who will be calling participants from the Consent to Contact initiative have to be identified as ‘obtaining consent’ in IBISResearch.

Complete and Submit Request Form

Identify the study team members who will be calling participants from Consent To Contact and have their email addresses
Complete and submit the REDCap request form online: https://redcap.miami.edu/surveys/?s=D88894YN7P

Questions?

Email your questions to [email protected]

A website for UM study teams to feature their health research studies and connect with participants. Possible study participants can search the site for active studies an/or they sign up to be part of a registry to be contacted about studies.

Features

  • It allows users to easily view lay-friendly descriptions of health studies online by searching with lay friendly key words and categories.
  • Potential participants can go to this website and sign up to be a volunteer in future studies and express their interest in specific studies.
  • It allows study teams and volunteers to communicate with one another in a safe, HIPAA-compliant manner.
  • Each study gets a unique public web address for easy sharing on social media and marketing materials.

UM study teams should ensure their studies are listed in the website’s portal to maximize the benefits of all these features. Learn more about UMiamiHealthResearch.org here.

Investigators and study teams now have the ability to identify and recruit UHealth patients to clinical/ interventional research studies and safely communicate with eligible participants through MyChart. Studies wishing to use this recruitment tool must obtain IRB approval first. Additionally, study team members will need approved access to Epic and to complete a training module in ULearn. To inquire about using MyChart for recruitment, email [email protected].

ResearchMatch is a national volunteer research registry that brings together researchers and willing volunteers who want to get involved in research studies. It was developed by institutions affiliated with the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program and provides a secure, web-based approach to finding research participants.

For researchers at the University of Miami, ResearchMatch is a free participant recruitment and feasibility analysis tool. This tool is funded by the NIH and offered at no cost to researchers who are conducting health-related research.

To learn how to use ResearchMatch, visit https://www.researchmatch.org/researchers/

The materials available through the TIN Toolbox are designed primarily for the CTSA Program staffs and institutions participating in the Trial Innovation Network. Other parties conducting engagement, recruitment, and retention activities for clinical trials and multi-site studies are welcomed to adopt these resources for local use as well.

Resources in the toolbox include a recruitment and retention plan, a community outreach guide, and templates for sharing study results.

Access the Toolbox here.