Messaging Modality and Content for Recruitment of Research Participants

Among adults identified through electronic health records for potential research participation, how do recruitment modality (email vs patient portal) and message content (altruistic vs individualistic) affect participant engagement?In this randomized clinical trial of 15 376 potential research participants, email recruitment was associated with significantly higher engagement compared with patient portal messaging. Message content did not significantly affect engagement overall, although exploratory analyses suggested higher engagement with altruistic messaging among participants 60 years and younger.The findings of this study suggest that recruitment modality plays a key role in research engagement, with email outperforming patient portal messaging.

Corresponding Author: Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, MPH, Duke Clinical Research Institute, 300 W Morgan St, Ste 800, Durham, NC 27701 (neha.pagidipati@duke.edu).

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