This 1-day online course will be held live with a mix of interactive lectures and group discussions.

By the end of the course participants should:

1. be aware of common logistical and organisational issues that can impede recruitment;
2. understand the purpose of RCT screening logs and their value in monitoring recruitment and identifying difficulties;
3. understand the ways in which equipoise issues can undermine RCT recruitment and be aware of strategies for overcoming these difficulties;
4. appreciate the importance of understanding potential participants' (e.g. patients') views for/against trial treatments and how strategies can be used to engage with them to optimise informed decision making; and
5. be aware of how language and terminology can influence potential trial participants’ interpretations of trial treatments and processes.

This course is suitable for health professionals, trial co-ordinators and researchers who have an interest or active role in the design and delivery of RCTs. It will be of particular value to those who organise and/or discuss trial recruitment with potential participants - especially trials in secondary care hospital settings that are deemed difficult to recruit to.

The course content has been informed by two decades of research into optimising RCT recruitment, conducted by the University of Bristol's QuinteT research group. The QuinteT group have worked on over seventy challenging RCTs, most of which have compared very different types of treatment or 'non-treatment' groups in secondary care NHS settings.

The day long course will cover the following areas, using examples from real RCTs:

1. common organisational and logistic difficulties that can impede recruitment;
2. use of screening logs to monitor recruitment, identify issues, and prioritise solutions;
3. an overview of the concepts of individual and community equipoise, and their implications for recruitment;
4. strategies for engaging with patient preferences for or against trial treatments; and
5. the implications of language and terminology on recruitment when discussing RCTs with potential participants.

Course leads and tutors are members of the University of Bristol's QuinteT research group and the Bristol Trials Centre. The QuinteT team have specialist knowledge and experience of understanding and addressing recruitment obstacles in RCTs, following two decades of research in this area.

To make sure the course is suitable for you and you will benefit from attending, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites before booking:

Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience and prerequisites. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course and meet the knowledge prerequisites to ensure you can get the most from the course.

Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full here.

For help and support with booking a course refer to our booking information page, FAQs or feel free to contact us directly. For available payment options please see: How to pay your short course fees.

Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.

To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.

All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 3 months after the course. 

University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.

100% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from 2022-2023.

Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:

"Really enjoyed examples, and input into lectures. Good timing. Enthusiastic presenters, who explained clearly".
Course feedback, April 2023

"Good use of practical exercises balanced with varied talks and sharing of references and further reading".
Course feedback, April 2023

"Love the practical examples with the quotes. They help a lot in understanding the real practical challenges and exploring ways to overcomes the difficulties. Very clear learning outcomes with great materials and lots of insights".
Course feedback, April 2023

"I think the whole course was so informative. I really enjoyed it".
Course feedback, April 2023

"Its really helpful to have access to the slides and materials after the course to reflect back and delve deeper".
Course feedback, April 2023

"Really knowledgeable course moderators. Great examples".
Course feedback, April 2023

"Really enjoyed the polls and breakout rooms. It was great to have some interaction".
Course feedback, April 2023