Abstract
Objectives:
In the Danish EQ-5D-5L valuation study a representative segment of the Danish population was extracted by Statistics Denmark. 4,500 eligible participants above the age of 18 were invited by email to participate in a personal interview. People who did not respond were contacted personally by phone by a member of the research group. Less than 10 % of the invited people participated based on this strategy. The aim of this study was to identify mechanisms that influence people’s unwillingness to participate.
Methods:
First, field notes containing reasons for unwillingness to participate in the study were categorized. Second, semi-structured interviews with two members from the research team responsible for recruitment by phone were conducted. Using techniques from a qualitative content analysis, themes were extracted to identify mechanisms that influence people’s unwillingness to participate.
Results:
The field notes showed that the most frequent reasons for unwillingness to participate were: lack of time and no interest in the study. Based on the analysis of the semi-structured interviews, the following three themes were identified as being crucial to people’s unwillingness to participate: not wanting to spend time participating in the interview, misunderstanding of the aim of the study, and no interest in the study. From this data material, the main mechanism that drives people to participate was that they should find their participation meaningful.
Conclusion:
Lack of time and no interest in the study drives people to refrain from participating. To improve the success of a recruitment strategy, ensuring that participation in the study is meaningfull for the eligible participants is an important mechanism.
Perspectives:
Using an adapted strategy that focused on generating meaningfulness for the participant, had a larger degree of success. To this end, personalized letters with additional emphasis on the expected scientific and societal contributions of the project, had a positive response rate of 23% (n=50). If the personalized letter was successfully followed by contact through phone, participation rates increased to 54% (n=22).
However personalized recruitment of respondents is labor intensive and was concluded not to be cost-effective when compared to a professional recruitment agency with a curated list of willing participants.
In the Danish EQ-5D-5L valuation study a representative segment of the Danish population was extracted by Statistics Denmark. 4,500 eligible participants above the age of 18 were invited by email to participate in a personal interview. People who did not respond were contacted personally by phone by a member of the research group. Less than 10 % of the invited people participated based on this strategy. The aim of this study was to identify mechanisms that influence people’s unwillingness to participate.
Methods:
First, field notes containing reasons for unwillingness to participate in the study were categorized. Second, semi-structured interviews with two members from the research team responsible for recruitment by phone were conducted. Using techniques from a qualitative content analysis, themes were extracted to identify mechanisms that influence people’s unwillingness to participate.
Results:
The field notes showed that the most frequent reasons for unwillingness to participate were: lack of time and no interest in the study. Based on the analysis of the semi-structured interviews, the following three themes were identified as being crucial to people’s unwillingness to participate: not wanting to spend time participating in the interview, misunderstanding of the aim of the study, and no interest in the study. From this data material, the main mechanism that drives people to participate was that they should find their participation meaningful.
Conclusion:
Lack of time and no interest in the study drives people to refrain from participating. To improve the success of a recruitment strategy, ensuring that participation in the study is meaningfull for the eligible participants is an important mechanism.
Perspectives:
Using an adapted strategy that focused on generating meaningfulness for the participant, had a larger degree of success. To this end, personalized letters with additional emphasis on the expected scientific and societal contributions of the project, had a positive response rate of 23% (n=50). If the personalized letter was successfully followed by contact through phone, participation rates increased to 54% (n=22).
However personalized recruitment of respondents is labor intensive and was concluded not to be cost-effective when compared to a professional recruitment agency with a curated list of willing participants.
| Translated title of the contribution | Udfordringer med rekrutteringsprocessen i det danske EQ-5D-5L værdisætningsstudie |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Article number | PNS8 |
| Journal | Value in Health |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | Suppl. 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | S764 |
| ISSN | 1098-3015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
| Event | ISPOR EUROPE 2019 - København, Denmark Duration: 2 Nov 2019 → 6 Nov 2019 https://www.ispor.org/conferences-education/conferences/upcoming-conferences/ispor-europe-2019 |
Conference
| Conference | ISPOR EUROPE 2019 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Denmark |
| City | København |
| Period | 02/11/2019 → 06/11/2019 |
| Internet address |