Balancing high accrual and ethical recruitment in paediatric oncology: a qualitative study of the 'look and feel' of clinical trial discussions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

High accrual to clinical trials enables new treatment strategies to be tested rapidly, accurately and with generalisability. Ethical standards also must be high so that participation is voluntary and informed. However, this can be difficult to achieve in trials with complex designs and in those which are closely embedded in clinical practice. Optimal recruitment requires a balance of both ethical and accrual considerations. In the context of a trial of stratified treatments for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (UKALL2003) we examined how recruitment looked to an observer and how it felt to the parents, to identify how doctors' communication could promote or inhibit optimal recruitment.

Methods

We audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed routine doctor-p

SUBMITTER: Byrne-Davis LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2972295 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature