Table 1 Seven patient ascertainment and recruitment strategies to facilitate comprehensive population-based biospecimen accrual and the potential for differential patient selection associated with each individual approach
Identification method | Description | Potential for selection bias |
|---|---|---|
Alberta Cancer Registrya | Pathological evidence of a positive cancer diagnosis provided by the Alberta Cancer Registry. | Cancer registries may not capture 100 % of patient populations and/or may not identify patients with sufficient time for recruitment prior to treatment. |
Direct Clinician Referral | Collaborations with key high-volume clinicians including surgeons and oncologists pro-actively introduce the ACRB to patients during pre-treatment consultations | Not all clinicians are supportive or have the time and/or resources to support recruitment initiatives. |
Surgical Booking Request | When a patient is diagnosed with a resectable cancer, a surgical booking request is generated to secure a surgery date and surgical suite. | Only includes patients scheduled for surgical treatment for their cancer. |
Pre-Admission Clinic | The pre-admission clinic ensures that patients are prepared for a scheduled operation or procedure. | Over-representation of patients with significant co-morbidities and/or are considered at high risk of complications during a medical procedure. |
Day Surgery Unit (DSU) | Patients are identified on the operating room slate and encountered in the DSU just prior to their surgery on the day of the operation. | Only includes patients treated for cancer with surgery/excision. |
Pre-treatment Patient Education | Numerous programs are available to educate and inform patients prior to treatment. | Patient education sessions are not mandatory; only subsets of broader populations attend these sessions. |
Nurse Navigator Referral | Oncology nurses are assigned to patients to help them navigate the continuum of cancer care. They may introduce patients to the ACRB and/or notify the ACRB that a patient has entered their program [113]. | Not all nurse navigators are prioritize research recruitment and/or notify the ACRB of patients entering their program. |