Christmas Card SWAT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SWAT 82: Sending Christmas cards to trial participants to improve retention – studies within trials (SWATs)
IRAS ID
270574
Contact name
David Torgerson
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
SWAT 82, MRC SWAT Repository
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This research aims to evaluate the effect on retention of sending Christmas cards to trial participants.\n\nChristmas cards are often used to encourage trial participants to continue participation in a trial; a recent survey of UK clinical trials units found that 40% had used Christmas cards as a retention intervention.\n\nThere is however no evidence that providing Christmas cards improves retention.\nFor those trials that spend resource (in terms of time and money) investing in sending Christmas cards there is a potential opportunity cost to invest resources in other potentially more effective interventions or indeed for their routine\nuse if there is evidence to support this.\n\nHost trials that have participants who are in follow up and complete and return questionnaires to a host trial office/ clinical trials unit will be invited to take part. \n\nThis study is part of the PROMETHEUS (PROMoting THE USe of SWATs) programme, funded by the Medical Research Council.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/YH/0349
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion