Participant recruitment to FiCTION, a primary dental care trial - survey of facilitators and barriers
Open accessAbstract
Objective To identify reasons behind a lower than expected participant recruitment rate within the FiCTION trial, a multi-centre paediatric primary dental care randomised controlled trial (RCT).Subjects (materials) and methods An online survey, based on a previously published tool, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative responses, completed by staff in dental practices recruiting to FiCTION. Ratings from quantitative responses were aggregated to give overall scores for factors related to participant recruitment. Qualitative responses were independently grouped into themes.Results Thirty-nine anonymous responses were received. Main facilitators related to the support received from the central research team and importance of the research question. The main barriers related to low child eligibility rates and the integration of trial processes within routine workloads.Conclusions These findings have directed strategies for enhancing participant recruitment at existing practices and informed recruitment of further practices. The results help provide a profile of the features required of practices to successfully screen and recruit participants. Future trials in this setting should consider the level of interest in the research question within practices, and ensure trial processes are as streamlined as possible. Research teams should actively support practices with participant recruitment and maintain enthusiasm among the entire practice team.
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Trials in NHS primary dental care, particularly those involving children, remain rare, with limited evidence upon which to base recommendations to optimise participation in such trials.
“However, trials in this environment, particularly those involving children remain rare, with limited evidence upon which to base recommendations to optimise participation in such trials [7].”
From Parental attitudes to randomised controlled trials in primary dental care: A qualitative study (2026) · cites this paper as [7]
The Discussion (page unavailable) says evidence on improving trial recruitment is limited and that literature specific to primary dental care is limited. The Conclusions describe a trial of this scale and complexity in primary dental care as novel, but the paper does not establish that trials in this setting—particularly trials involving children—are generally rare. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe FiCTION randomised controlled trial also reported challenges with recruitment.
“this was echoed with the FiCTION RCT [7]”
From Parental attitudes to randomised controlled trials in primary dental care: A qualitative study (2026) · cites this paper as [7]
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“However, trials in this environment, particularly those involving children remain rare, with limited evidence upon which to base recommendations to optimise participation in such trials [7].”
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- Authors
- Keightley, A., Clarkson, J., Maguire, A., Speed, C., & Innes, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Dundee (GB)
- Newcastle University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Keightley, A.
- Venue
- British Dental Journal
- Published
- 2014-11
- Volume
- 217
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- E22-E22
- ISSN
- 0007-0610 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-5373
- OpenAlex
- W2067314113
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 2.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- BDJ (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
- Discovery Research Portal (University of Dundee) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity) (cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- University of Dundee
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics in Clinical Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Dental Education, Practice, Research
- Keywords
- participant recruitment, barriers and facilitators, dental practice staff
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child, Preschool, Dental Caries, United Kingdom, Humans, Multicenter Studies as Topic, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Patient Selection, Dental Care for Children
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