Researchers were looking at the combined effect of medication and group psychotherapy on smoking cessation. Henley called the number in the ad, made it through the screening process, participated, and has been smoke-free for two years. When I saw in the ad that the study was taking place here, I thought I would take advantage. When it come to finding human subjects for drug trials, faculty in the School of Medicine employ a range of recruitment strategies. Robert Swift, M.D., is an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior and associate chief of staff for research and education at the Providence VA Medical Center.
Swift investigates medications and psychotherapies to help people with drug and alcohol addictions.
We will meet with groups of doctors at the various hospitals to discuss the studies. If we decide to advertise, we will put up recruitment posters at the hospitals. However, if the research involves people without certain illnesses, and we need normal volunteers, we will usually use posters, placed on college campuses, in supermarkets, or elsewhere. Sometimes, we will use direct advertising, particularly newspaper ads. We've tried various sections of the newspaper and found the sports section produces the best results.