Table 5.

Patient feedback and suggestions for improving patient portal recruitment messaging

Complaint	Context	Recommendation	Preferences	Relevant Group
				Did not open	Viewed, no response	Responded
Meaning of research message was unclear	Participants were concerned if message referred to risk of a serious health issue/ were unsure if the message indicated bad news.	Emphasize personal relevance	Confirm that the message states the relevance to an individual’s health conditions	X	X	X
Message did not include enough information	Participants reported that the initial message did not contain enough information to entice them to express interest.	Provide study details in initial message	Include as much information as possible about the research study in the email. Suggestions: Title Overview of research aims Study website Eligibility criteria Time commitment Study procedures Compensation In-person or virtual Contact information	X	X	X
Inability to set preferences	Participants reported that they preferred being contacted for different types of studies and at varying frequencies.	Provide patients with ability to set preferences for research	Allow patients to limit the number and type of studies they are contacted by/for.		X	X
Unable to locate the message after initial viewing	Participants logged into the portal to complete a healthcare-related task and forgot to follow up once they finished. Participants noted they were unable to find the message the next time they logged into the patient portal.	1. Make research tab more prominent	The research tab should be easy to find in the patient portal system.	X	X	X
		2. Send reminder messages	Send reminders (1-3) if the patient does not respond.		X	X
Experienced technical difficulties	Participants who used a smartphone app reported responding multiple times, but the link connected the participant to a webpage that was not compatible with their smartphone.	Optimize use on the smartphone	Allow patients to complete steps within the smartphone app.		X	X