PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Robitaille, Hubert
AU  - Légaré, France
AU  - Tre, Ghislaine
TI  - A Systematic Process for Recruiting Physician-Patient Dyads in Practice-based Research Networks (PBRNs)
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2014.06.140035
DP  - 2014 Nov 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 740--749
VI  - 27
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/27/6/740.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/27/6/740.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2014 Nov 01; 27
AB  - Background: Recruiting physicians and patients for primary care research is difficult, and low participation can greatly affect the validity of research. While practice-based research networks (PBRNs) offer advantages of scale for recruitment, the barriers are perennial. We designed a systematic process for recruiting physician–patient dyads in PBRNs and tested it in EXACKTE2, a large, cross-sectional, dyadic study. Methods: Based on known barriers, we designed a systematic process for recruiting dyads of family physicians and their patients and implemented it in 2 primary care practice-based research networks in Canada: one in Ontario (11 practices) and one in Quebec (6 practices). Dyads (one physician with one patient) were recruited simultaneously to explore their mutual influence during consultations. A key element of the process was a research assistant assigned to each practice. This person closely accompanied the recruitment process, liaising with staff and taking charge of interviews, questionnaires, and follow-up. Results: In total, 276 physicians and patients were recruited in 17 primary care practices in 2 primary care networks in Ontario and Quebec, representing a participation rate of more than 72% of eligible physicians and more than 64% of eligible patients. Conclusion: We established a systematic process to conduct successful dyadic recruitment of physicians and patients in PBRNs.