Authors: Karl Witty, Peter Branney, Kate Bullen, Alan White, Ian Eardley

Putting data on the internet: recruitment processes and challenges for the Patients’

Experiences of Penile Cancer (PEPC) healthtalkonline audio-visual interview

study

‘Free’‘Convenient’‘Interactive’

Bruns et al., 2012

The Internet as Dissemination

www.healthtalkonline.org

www.healthtalkonline.org

Ethical Issues

PenileCancer

Figure 2: diagram of penis anatomy from: http://men.webmd.com/picture-of-the-penis

www.healthtalkonline.org

www.healthtalkonline.org

Recruitment results• 10 participants from the

local specialist centre• 18 from the other 8

centres• No participants recruited

due to promotional materials.

• Low ethnic diversity• 1 dropped out

Recruitment Methods• Face-to-face contact with consenting patients

at a local specialist centre• Urology Supra-network MDTs

– 240 recruitment packs sent to 9 teams across the UK

• Passive techniques– Web promotion– Advert in Metro free newspaper– E-mail contact with GPs on Dipex database

Concluding Issues• Risks of putting findings online are

acceptable to some• Importance of one-to-one rapport for

negotiating involvement and anonyminity and confidentiality

• Need to include ‘research advocate’ clinicians in informed consent process

Witty, K., Branney, P., Bullen, K., White, A., & Eardley, I. (2012). Putting data on the Internet: recruitment process and challenges for the Patients’ Experiences of Penile Cancer (PEPC) healthtalkonline audio-visual study. In, D. Giles (convener), Qualitative psychological research online: methodological advances. Qualitative Methods in Psychology conference, Connaught Rooms, London, 18th-20th April 2012.