Table 4.

Sample Phone Interview Questions

Confirm number of patients admitted with stimulant abuse per month.

How many patients could realistically be enrolled given the inclusion/exclusion criteria?

Confirm the retention rate in residential treatment.

Does the site know in advance who will be in residential treatment for less than 21 days or greater than 30 days?

Acquire a clear picture of where patients go at discharge, where they live, and the retention rate in any affiliated or non-affiliated outpatient programs. How many patients go to these programs?

What is the site population’s actual likelihood of coming in three times a week for supervised exercise or health education?

What is the site willing and able to do to get patients to come back for study visits?

Confirm participants can come back to study visits even if they relapse.

Confirm no exercise program is available for more than one hour a week or site is willing to exclude study participants from any exercise program

Confirm there is space to locate research staff, exercise equipment, and health education meetings.

Confirm availability for study start dates and evaluate competing study demands

Identify prior experience with research in CTN or elsewhere and whether recruitment and retention goals were met.