A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Physical Activity Patterns, Aerobic Capacity and Perceptions about Exercise among Male Farmers in the Mid-West Region of Ireland.

In Ireland, farmers have been identified as a high-risk population, with higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality, compared with the general population. Farming has always been considered a physically active lifestyle. However, in recent times, with the increased use of technology and machinery, farmers may not be completing as much physical activity as before.

Identifying strategies to maximise recruitment and retention of practices and patients in a multicentre randomised controlled trial of an intervention to optimise secondary prevention for coronary heart disease in primary care.

Background: Recruitment and retention of patients and healthcare providers in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is important in order to determine the effectiveness of interventions. However, failure to achieve recruitment targets is common and reasons why a particular recruitment strategy works for one study and not another remain unclear. We sought to describe a strategy used in a multicentre RCT in primary care, to report researchers' and participants' experiences of its implementation and to inform future strategies to maximise recruitment and retention.