Enhancing Outpatient Clinic Recruitment: A Quality Improvement Strategy for a Prospective Research Study.

The study was conducted in a single outpatient setting at one institution, limiting generalizability to inpatient, emergency, or community settings. The population was restricted to adolescents with mild traumatic brain injury, so it does not address recruitment challenges for patients with mobility limitations or other barriers common in broader rehabilitation populations. Data relied on self-reports from recruitment champions, which may introduce bias if staff inconsistently documented their efforts. Confounding variables such as staff turnover, leave, and fluctuating clinic volumes likely influenced the effectiveness of the interventions. The baseline rate was calculated from a prior study rather than concurrent controls, which may affect the precision of the comparison.

The investigators have no financial or nonfinancial disclosures to make in relation to this project.

Do not interpret the increase in contact and enrollment rates as evidence that the interventions caused the improvement without considering confounders. The study lacked a concurrent control group, relied on a historical baseline, and involved self-reported data, meaning changes in clinic staffing, patient volume, or seasonal trends could also explain the results.