Factors affecting patient participation in clinical trials in Ireland: A narrative review

AbstractObjectiveClinical trials have long been considered the ‘gold standard’ of research generated evidence in health care. Patient recruitment is an important determinant in the success of the trials, yet little focus is placed on the decision making process of patients towards recruitment. Our objective was to identify the key factors pertaining to patient participation in clinical trials, to better understand the identified low participation rate of patients in one clinical research facility within Ireland.DesignNarrative literature review of studies focussing on factors which may act to facilitate or deter patient participation in clinical trials. Studies were identified from Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library and CINAHL.ResultsSixty-one studies were included in the narrative review: Forty-eight of these papers focused specifically on the patient's perspective of participating in clinical trials. The remaining thirteen related to carers, family and health care professional perspectives of participation. The primary factor influencing participation in clinical trials amongst patients was related to personal factors and these were collectively associated with obtaining a form of personal gain through participation. Cancer was identified as the leading disease entity included in clinical trials followed by HIV and cardiovascular disease.ConclusionThe vast majority of literature relating to participation in clinical trials emanates predominantly from high income countries, with 63% originating from the USA. No studies for inclusion in this review were identified from low income or developing countries and therefore limits the generalizability of the influencing factors

Building the IPO Order Book: Underpricing and Participation Limits With Costly Information

This paper examines the book building mechanism for marketing initial public offerings. We present a model where the underwriter selects a group of investors along with a pricing and allocation mechanism in a way that maximizes the information generated during the process of going public at a minimum cost. Unlike previous models, we take into account the moral hazard problem that is faced by investors when evaluation is costly. Our results suggest that for firms with the most to gain from accurate pricing, the number of investors participating in the offering is larger, and underpricing will be greater. When the demand for accuracy is relatively low, the expected amount of underpricing exactly offsets the investors' costs of acquiring information. However, when the demand for accuracy is high, the expected amount of underpricing can exceed the cost of information and investors can earn rents.

A sociometric study of social acceptance in a fifth grade before and after a unit series program

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Cultivating a donor base: how colleges and universities use public relations techniques to influence undergraduate students to become donors

This study examines effective public relations techniques used by higher education fund raising professionals in cultivating an alumni donor base. The researcher surveyed fund raising professionals in the nation\u27s top private and public colleges and universities. The researcher also conducted a personal interview with a top fund-raiser in the field of higher education. Survey participants rated donor bases, identified when they begin to cultivate relationships for lifetime giving and the effectiveness of strategies to obtain alumni support. The researcher surveyed key fund-raisers from 124 of the nation\u27s top colleges and universities. This study examined what strategies fund-raisers deemed effective in obtaining alumni support. The study also identified what fund-raisers\u27 felt was the most important aspect of cultivating a relationship with their alumni donor base

Youth participation practice in North Ayrshire, Scotland from a Freirean perspective

There is a desire in policy, to encourage young people to take part in Youth Participation Practice (YPP). More insight is needed in approaches to YPP that enable meaningful and positive experiences for young people and communities. This qualitative study investigates youth participation practice in North Ayrshire Council in Scotland. Theories and principles from Paulo Freire (1996; 2000) form the framework for analysis. The study examines what young people and youth workers define the purpose of YPP to be; investigates the approaches that are used; and analyses what participants define as the benefits and outcomes of YPP for young people and communities. Through two focus groups with young people, 22 semi-structured interviews with young people, youth workers and Ruth Maguire, an elected member in North Ayrshire, themes were identified. These include the notion of young people feeling ‘connected’, being ‘enabled’ and feeling ‘transformed’ through their involvement in YPP. Freire’s notion of armed love has been interpreted and redefined as the term ‘alfirmo’, which is the act of caring for, nourishing and supporting people, while asserting belief in their ability as agents of change. This study found that ‘alfirmo’ is embodied by youth workers and noticed by young people who have taken part in YPP in North Ayrshire Council. Through the embodiment of ‘alfirmo’, young people in this study feel connected to peers and youth workers and enabled to undertake many tasks such as presenting in front of peers and adults. Through their experiences in YPP, young people expressed that they have gone through a personal transformation, with a greater sense and feeling of confidence as a key example

Developing a model for e-prints and open access journal content in UK further and higher education

A study carried out for the UK Joint Information Systems Committee examined models for the provision of access to material in institutional and subject-based archives and in open access journals. Their relative merits were considered, addressing not only technical concerns but also how e-print provision (by authors) can be achieved – an essential factor for an effective e-print delivery service (for users). A "harvesting" model is recommended, where the metadata of articles deposited in distributed archives are harvested, stored and enhanced by a national service. This model has major advantages over the alternatives of a national centralized service or a completely decentralized one. Options for the implementation of a service based on the harvesting model are presented

Four Book Reviews

Fox, Mem. (1993) Radical reflections : passionate opinions on teaching, learning, and living. Sydney, Harcourt Brace. Ingvarson, L, and Chadbourne, R (Editors) (1994) Valuing teachers\u27 work : new directions in teacher appraisal. Camberwell, Vic : Australian Council for Educational Research. Shears, L. (Editor) (1995) Computers and schools. Camberwell, Vic : ACER. Maltby, F., Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. (1995) Educational psychology : an Australian and New Zealand perspective. Brisbane : John Wiley