Planning & Fielding Research
Patient Engagement Workbook
Patient Engagement Workbook – developed by the HCSRN Patient Engagement Scientific Interest Group (PER SIG) in 2014, this practical resource was developed for research staff preparing to engage patients or other stakeholders as members of their research teams very early on in the study development process. The workbook walks research staff through the steps of, and considerations and suggestions for, the engagement process. The workbook is designed so that it may also be printed (1 slide per page) as a hardcopy manual.
Cluster Randomized Trials
Designing Multi-center Cluster Randomized Trials: An Introductory Toolkit – the Network’s 2008 introductory toolkit for cluster randomized trials was updated in 2015 by the NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center. The Collaboratory’s methods and biostatistics core also offers several guidance documents around methodological issues unique to CRTs, which are linked to throughout the new guide.
Optimizing Recruitment
Guide to optimizing recruitment and data collection – resource identifies strategies to optimize recruitment and data collection in a multicenter environment. Content areas include an overview; optimization of recruitment mail, telephone, in-person, Web, community outreach, and mixed-model approaches; procedures for enhancing response rates and retention; considerations for special populations; success stories; and appendices, including references, must-reads, and example study materials).
Chart Abstraction
Guide for multi-center chart abstraction – extensive guide to optimizing the chart abstraction process in multi-center studies covers: Coordinating centers’ medical records abstraction processes, IRB and HIPAA, budgetary considerations, tools and guidance for accessing site-specific access to medical records, hospital record requests, paper and Web-based abstractions, including software and tool development, abstractor training and quality assurance, coordination and communication, medical record redaction (including use of Adobe), and secure transfer mechanisms for paper and electronic files.
Interviewer Training
Interviewer training manual for multi-center research – training tool for those with no formal training in the art and science of survey telephone interviewing. Topics include professional ethics, introduction to interviewing, general interviewing practices, active listening, and refusal avoidance, as well as special considerations for in-person interviewing.