Better Tools for Multi-site Research

Describes challenges in 5 areas of Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) research implementation and methods used by the Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network (AAFP NRN) to address them: (1) selecting fundable, feasible studies that interest members and have the potential to improve quality of care; (2) creating a practical budget that covers the costs of the study; (3) composing study teams and securing written agreements between team members; (4) recruiting and selecting study sites; and (5) training practice staff and physicians.   Click here to download.

Graham, Deborah G., Spano, Mindy S., Stewart, Tom V., Staton, Elizabeth W., Meers, Angela, Pace, Wilson D. Strategies for Planning and Launching PBRN Research Studies: A Project of the Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network (AAFP NRN). Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2007 20: 220-228.   www.jabfm.org/cgi/reprint/20/2/220.pdf

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This 9-module training program from CTN Best Practices addresses principal investigator obligations, regulatory environment, NIH trials, study coordinator training, facility setup, study feasibility/protocol assessment, subject recruitment and retention, budget management, and site availability announcements. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours.   

From Clinical Trials Networks Best Practices (CTNBP) of Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).  https://www.ctnbestpractices.org/edu/keys-to-building-a-successful-research-site/

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This is a sample orientation checklist for external research staff who will be working in a health care setting. The simple form outlines topics around which to set expectations, documents that training occurred, and sets out a communication pathway for future questions. This example could serve as a template for practices working to operationalize research policies and create best practices.   Click here to download.

Courtesy of the ACCESS Community Health Network of Chicago, Illinois.  http://www.accesscommunityhealth.net/

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CTN Best Practices offers sample job descriptions, lists of duties and responsibilities for research nurses, coordinators and investigators on clinical trials - as well as other tools that can serve as references and resources to others.  

From Clinical Trials Networks Best Practices (CTNBP) of Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).  www.ctnbestpractices.org/sites/job-descriptions

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Education Network To Advance Cancer Clinical Trials (ENACCT) offers two interrelated cultural competency training programs with the purpose of improving recruitment, consent and accrual processes, for cancer clinical trials, especially among ethnic and racial minorities: (1) Optimizing Clinical Trials Recruitment and Retention Practices: A Workshop for Cancer Clinical Trial Staff is a four-hour CME-accredited course designed for clinical research coordinators, research nurses, and oncologists who are currently interacting with patients in the context of a clinical trial. (2) CLAS Standards and Cancer Clinical Trials: Optimizing Institutions' Recruitment and Retention Practices is a four-hour CME-accredited course designed for institution leadership such as administrators, vice presidents, directors of risk management, strategic planning, community outreach, or public relations.  

From the Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials' (ENACCT).  http://www.enacct.org/training-programs/clinical-trial-teams-training-program

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This manual is intended to be an introduction to interviewing for people who have never been formally trained in survey research telephone interviewing. Topics covered are professional ethics, introduction to interviewing, general interviewing practices, active listening, refusal avoidance, and additional considerations for in-person interviewing. A section on in-person interviewing is also included.  Click here to download.

From the HMO Research Network Collaboration Toolkit.  www.hmoresearchnetwork.org

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