**2. Methods**

#### **2.1. Procedures**

All survey items were entered into online formats including REDCap and Qualtrics for dissemination. Following institutional review board (IRB) approval, the survey was distributed to research professionals at three academic medical centers: University of Miami, University of Florida, and University of Texas Health Science Center. Because of a technical error, data from the University of Texas Health Science Center (n = 16 surveys) could not be retained for the study.

The eligibility criteria for participation were broad: Any employee whose job duties regularly involved recruiting and/or consenting patients for clinical trials or research studies could participate in the study. The survey was distributed via email link by managers within each academic medical center. No compensation for participation was offered. A total of 71 people who completed the survey were included in the analyses. Respondents had an average of 6 years of experience (M = 5.93, SD = 4.20). The demographic and professional characteristics of our sample appear in **Table 1**.

#### **2.2. Measures**

In addition to the items assessing communication behaviors in clinical trial contexts, demographic questions, the nature of their work, and their level of experience, we asked research professionals about how they feel about their jobs, their motivation levels, and their selfassessment of their competence in recruiting for clinical trials and research studies. These items were used to explore the relationship between responses to these questions and selfreported communication behaviors as a way to test the capacity of the clinical trial communication inventory (CTCI) to discriminate different audience characteristics.


\*Some individuals reported recruiting for more than one type of trial.

**Table 1.** Characteristics of the sample.

Toward this end, we have developed a self-report questionnaire that focuses on communication behaviors that are critical for effective clinical trial recruitment and consent. The measure is grounded in the empirical literature on clinical trial communication, particularly the work of Morgan and colleagues, who identified verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors that recruiters themselves associate with effective recruitment and consent processes [12–15]. We created an initial pool of 138\* items which corresponded to a wide variety of communication behaviors including eye contact; conversational style; protection of patient privacy; tone of voice; ability to "read" patients; ability to adapt to patient communication preferences; mirroring patient communication behaviors; smiling and friendliness; body positioning; the use of touch; physical appearance; simplifying/"translating" medical and technical information into lay language; reframing or using metaphors and analogies to explain difficult concepts; encouraging question asking; balancing the presentation of risks and benefits of study participation; describing the benefits to self and society of study participation; and other communication behaviors that ensure that potential participants comprehend information that is

All survey items were entered into online formats including REDCap and Qualtrics for dissemination. Following institutional review board (IRB) approval, the survey was distributed to research professionals at three academic medical centers: University of Miami, University of Florida, and University of Texas Health Science Center. Because of a technical error, data from the University of Texas Health Science Center (n = 16 surveys) could not be retained for

The eligibility criteria for participation were broad: Any employee whose job duties regularly involved recruiting and/or consenting patients for clinical trials or research studies could participate in the study. The survey was distributed via email link by managers within each academic medical center. No compensation for participation was offered. A total of 71 people who completed the survey were included in the analyses. Respondents had an average of 6 years of experience (M = 5.93, SD = 4.20). The demographic and professional characteristics of

In addition to the items assessing communication behaviors in clinical trial contexts, demographic questions, the nature of their work, and their level of experience, we asked research professionals about how they feel about their jobs, their motivation levels, and their selfassessment of their competence in recruiting for clinical trials and research studies. These items were used to explore the relationship between responses to these questions and selfreported communication behaviors as a way to test the capacity of the clinical trial communi-

cation inventory (CTCI) to discriminate different audience characteristics.

relevant to the decision to participate in a research study or clinical trial.

**2. Methods**

202 Clinical Trials in Vulnerable Populations

**2.1. Procedures**

the study.

**2.2. Measures**

our sample appear in **Table 1**.
