The RIC Recruitment & Retention Materials Toolkit - a resource for developing community-informed study materials.

Clinical trials face many challenges with meeting projected enrollment and retention goals. A study's recruitment materials and messaging convey necessary key information and therefore serve as a critical first impression with potential participants. Yet study teams often lack the resources and skills needed to develop engaging, culturally tailored, and professional-looking recruitment materials. To address this gap, the Recruitment Innovation Center recently developed a Recruitment & Retention Materials Content and Design Toolkit, which offers research teams guidance, actionable tips, resources, and customizable templates for creating trial-specific study materials. This paper seeks to describe the creation and contents of this new toolkit.

A community-informed recruitment plan template to increase recruitment of racial and ethnic groups historically excluded and underrepresented in clinical research.

INTRODUCTION: Engaging communities in research planning and implementation can enhance recruitment and retention (R&R) of racial and ethnic groups historically excluded and underrepresented in clinical research; however, most studies do not use community-informed approaches. This paper describes the formative research process used to design a Community-Informed Recruitment Plan Template for racial and ethnic groups historically excluded and underrepresented in clinical research. METHODS: Using an existing R&R template as a starting point, we iteratively developed and refined the community-informed template through a 3-phase process to achieve cultural-appropriateness. Phase 1 included a literature review, 34 community engagement (CE) studios to review recommendations, community advisory board (CAB) review, and survey data from minority recruitment experts. Phase 2 involved integration of content into existing R&R template. Phase 3 was a final review and revision using input of the CAB and researchers' panel. Survey data collected in Phase 1 were analyzed using descriptives (i.e., frequencies and percentages). Open-ended survey responses were analyzed using inductive, qualitative thematic analysis. RESULTS: The final 8-section template can help develop effective grant or proposal language where study R&R plans are requested. They include: 1) Recruitment Strategy; 2) A Stakeholder Communication Plan; 3) Evidence of Recruitment Feasibility; 4) Recruitment and Retention Team; 5) Recruitment and Retention Methods; 6) Recruitment and Retention Timeline; 7) Evaluation; and 8) Budget. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating multiple perspectives into this formative research process enhances the cultural appropriateness of this community-informed R&R template to help research teams achieve R&R goals for individuals historically excluded and underrepresented in clinical research.

The RIC COVID-19 Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: A community-informed resource of recruitment tools and strategies for clinical trial investigators.

The Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC) has created a toolkit of novel strategies to engage potential participants in response to recruitment and retention challenges associated with COVID-19 studies. The toolkit contains pragmatic, generalizable resources to help research teams increase awareness of clinical trials and opportunities to participate; produce culturally sensitive and engaging recruitment materials; improve consent and return of results processes; and enhance recruitment of individuals from populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This resource, the "RIC COVID-19 Recruitment and Retention Toolkit," is available free online. We describe the toolkit and the community feedback used to author and curate this resource.

Design and implementation of a massive open online course on enhancing the recruitment of minorities in clinical trials - Faster Together.

BACKGROUND: Racial and ethnic minorities are often underrepresented in clinical trials, threatening the generalizability of trial results. Several factors may contribute to underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials, including lack of training for researchers and staff on the importance of diversity in clinical trials and effective strategies for recruiting and retaining minority populations. METHODS: Applying community engaged research principles, we developed a massive open online course (MOOC) to help research team members develop knowledge and skills to enhance the recruitment of minorities in clinical trials. A transdisciplinary working group, consisting of clinical researchers, community engagement specialists, minority clinical trial recruitment and retention educators and specialists, and knowledge management information scientists, was formed to develop an evidence-based curriculum. Feedback from the Recruitment Innovation Center Community Advisory Board was incorporated to help finalize the curriculum. The course was implemented in Coursera, an online learning platform offering MOOCs. A bootstrap paired sample t-test was used to compare pre- and post-assessments of knowledge, attitudes, and intentions as it relates to minority recruitment. RESULTS: The final course, entitled Faster Together, was divided into eight 1-h modules. Each module included video presentations, reading assignments, and quizzes. After 10 months, 382 individuals enrolled in the course, 105 participants completed the pre-test, and 14 participants completed the post-test. Participants' knowledge scores were higher with an increase in the mean number of correct answers from 15.4 (95% CI:12.1-18.7) on the pre-test to 18.7 (95% CI:17.42-20.2) on the post-test. All post-test respondents (n = 14) indicated that the course improved their professional knowledge, and 71.4% of respondents indicated that they were very likely to make changes to their recruitment practices. CONCLUSIONS: Faster Together, a massive open online course, is an acceptable, accessible approach to educating research teams on minority recruitment in clinical trials. Preliminary evidence indicates the course increased knowledge on how to recruit minorities into clinical trials and could promote change in their recruitment practices.