Improving recruitment to health research in primary care

BACKGROUND: Recruitment to health research is known to be problematic. However, evidence concerning ways of improving recruitment is sparse. OBJECTIVE: To outline the process of recruitment, factors impacting on recruitment success and key areas for further research and development. METHODS: Narrative literature review. RESULTS: This paper argues that three ways of improving recruitment should form the focus of future work: developing a repository of evidence-based techniques and methods which can be introduced by research teams; developing the infrastructure to support recruitment, especially new technologies around the electronic patient record; and increasing public engagement with research, to improve participation by both clinicians and patients. CONCLUSION: Recruitment to health research in primary care remains a major hurdle, and key research and development priorities must be addressed.