Theoretically-informed vs standard cover letter to improve participant response to mailed questionnaire: results of an embedded randomised retention trial.

Background: Participant non-response is a source of bias in all research, especially in randomised controlled trials. Participants followed up remotely can have high non-response rates. Four such trials have been conducted of a cover letter with content informed by behaviour change theory to overcome hypothesised barriers to responding to a mailed questionnaire.

Approaches and experiences implementing remote, electronic consent at the Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit.

Background: Use of electronic methods to support informed consent ('eConsent') is increasingly popular in clinical research. This commentary reports the approach taken to implement electronic consent methods and subsequent experiences from a range of studies at the Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU), a large clinical trials unit in the UK.

Main Text: We implemented a remote eConsent process using the REDCap platform.