Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants
Abstract Background The connection between participants and their research team can affect how safe, informed, and respected a participant feels, and their willingness to complete a research project. Communication between researchers and participants is key to developing this connection, but there i...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-024-02417-w |
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| author | Gudrun Wells Janelle Bowden Duncan Colyer Eleonora Kay Sarah Lukeman Lyndsay Newett Lisa Eckstein |
| author_facet | Gudrun Wells Janelle Bowden Duncan Colyer Eleonora Kay Sarah Lukeman Lyndsay Newett Lisa Eckstein |
| author_sort | Gudrun Wells |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The connection between participants and their research team can affect how safe, informed, and respected a participant feels, and their willingness to complete a research project. Communication between researchers and participants is key to developing this connection, but there is little published work evaluating how communication during clinical research is conducted. Purpose This paper explores what communications happen (and how) with research participants in Australia post consenting to participate in clinical research. It provides reflections from Australians working in clinical research about their current strategies, or those they would like to use, to communicate with research participants. Methods This exploratory, qualitative descriptive study reports findings associated with twenty semi-structured interviews that were undertaken with people who work in clinical research in Australia (such as staff in participant facing, site management, or sponsor representative roles). These interviews were conducted and analysed inductively using thematic analysis. Findings Research staff reported using a range of communication strategies which varied in implementation, uptake, and suitability between clinical research studies and sites. Four major themes were identified in the interviews: [1] staff use innovative pragmatism to communicate; [2] staff tailor the communication strategies to fit the participants’ context; [3] the site, its systems, and staff training all impact communication; [4] successful communication requires collaboration between stakeholders. Conclusion There are a variety of communication strategies, methods and activities research staff currently employ with trial participants, which vary in purpose, method, resources required, and suitability between studies and sites. Thorough consideration of the participants’ contexts and the capacity of research sites is crucial for the design of studies which allow for effective communication between the research team and participants. The authors encourage those developing clinical research projects to involve site staff and consumer representatives early in planning for communication with participants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8515b65e239484aae2200daa2f7ae66 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1471-2288 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8515b65e239484aae2200daa2f7ae662025-08-20T02:39:34ZengBMCBMC Medical Research Methodology1471-22882024-12-0124111110.1186/s12874-024-02417-wExploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participantsGudrun Wells0Janelle Bowden1Duncan Colyer2Eleonora Kay3Sarah Lukeman4Lyndsay Newett5Lisa Eckstein6Bellberry LimitedManaging Director and Consultant, AccessCR Pty Ltd.VCCC AllianceVCCC AlliancePatient Perspective PartnerNational Center for Indigenous Genomics, Australian National UniversityBellberry LimitedAbstract Background The connection between participants and their research team can affect how safe, informed, and respected a participant feels, and their willingness to complete a research project. Communication between researchers and participants is key to developing this connection, but there is little published work evaluating how communication during clinical research is conducted. Purpose This paper explores what communications happen (and how) with research participants in Australia post consenting to participate in clinical research. It provides reflections from Australians working in clinical research about their current strategies, or those they would like to use, to communicate with research participants. Methods This exploratory, qualitative descriptive study reports findings associated with twenty semi-structured interviews that were undertaken with people who work in clinical research in Australia (such as staff in participant facing, site management, or sponsor representative roles). These interviews were conducted and analysed inductively using thematic analysis. Findings Research staff reported using a range of communication strategies which varied in implementation, uptake, and suitability between clinical research studies and sites. Four major themes were identified in the interviews: [1] staff use innovative pragmatism to communicate; [2] staff tailor the communication strategies to fit the participants’ context; [3] the site, its systems, and staff training all impact communication; [4] successful communication requires collaboration between stakeholders. Conclusion There are a variety of communication strategies, methods and activities research staff currently employ with trial participants, which vary in purpose, method, resources required, and suitability between studies and sites. Thorough consideration of the participants’ contexts and the capacity of research sites is crucial for the design of studies which allow for effective communication between the research team and participants. The authors encourage those developing clinical research projects to involve site staff and consumer representatives early in planning for communication with participants.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-024-02417-wClinical researchClinical trialsCommunication strategiesResearch staffResearch participants |
| spellingShingle | Gudrun Wells Janelle Bowden Duncan Colyer Eleonora Kay Sarah Lukeman Lyndsay Newett Lisa Eckstein Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants BMC Medical Research Methodology Clinical research Clinical trials Communication strategies Research staff Research participants |
| title | Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| title_full | Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| title_fullStr | Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| title_short | Exploratory interviews with Australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| title_sort | exploratory interviews with australian clinical research staff on how they communicate with participants |
| topic | Clinical research Clinical trials Communication strategies Research staff Research participants |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-024-02417-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gudrunwells exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT janellebowden exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT duncancolyer exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT eleonorakay exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT sarahlukeman exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT lyndsaynewett exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants AT lisaeckstein exploratoryinterviewswithaustralianclinicalresearchstaffonhowtheycommunicatewithparticipants |