Adherence
Combining direct patient mailings with in-clinic provider referrals significantly enhances the reach and representativeness of primary care behavioral weight loss interventions compared to passive or low-engagement strategies.
To successfully recruit patients into weight loss programs, primary care clinics should use a dual approach: send targeted mailings to eligible patients and actively encourage providers to make direct referrals during visits. This combination is more effective than either method alone, especially for reaching diverse populations. Providers should be supported with easy-to-use referral tools to minimize the time burden and ensure consistent outreach.
A combination of direct patient mailings and in-clinic referrals may enhance the reach of primary care behavioral weight loss interventions, although more proactive outreach is likely necessary for men, younger patients, and those at greater medial risk.
Why this rating
Large pragmatic cluster RCT (n=1432 enrolled, >17,000 non-participants) with rigorous comparison of recruitment sources and representativeness.
Source
Recruitment and reach in a pragmatic behavioral weight loss randomized controlled trial: implications for real-world primary care practice
Christie A. Befort et al. · BMC Family Practice · 2020
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