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Optimising Resource-use IN Outcome Collection – the ORINOCO Project

Abstract

Trials are one of the best ways of testing treatments but they can be expensive and time consuming. The amount of data collected has a big influence on both cost and time.       

We aim to understand how much time trial teams spend collecting the most important trial data (called primary outcomes) compared to the other data they collect (secondary outcomes).  Outcomes are things like pain, blood pressure, or weight.  Small-scale work suggests that trial teams spend most of their time on the less important outcomes.  Our proposed large-scale work will find out whether this is correct.  We also want to understand the time taken to collect core outcome sets–an agreed minimum amount of information–compared with trials that do not use them to see if they improve efficiency, or worsen it.    

Once we have the above, we will speak with trial teams and others involved in trials to understand what will help them to plan and fund their work more efficiently and also to develop guidance trial teams can use in the future.  We hope our results will make it more likely that time isn’t given to less important outcomes at the expense of the most important. 

Aim

Our overall aims are to:
1. Increase quantified awareness among trialists of how data collection effort is distributed.   
2. Reduce research waste by increasing the chance that trial teams focus effort on important outcome data that can be collected, analysed and reported within the resources available.

Intended Impact of the Study

Data collection is a lot of work and time spent on one outcome may take time away from another. The guidance will produce will incorporate the views and experiences of various stakeholders to ensure that trial teams select and collect outcome data that are meaningful to patients and the research and clinical communities, that these data are focused on only these things, are within budget and without research waste

Project Lead

Shaun Treweek
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7239-7241

Project Collaborators

Katie Gillies
Heidi Gardner
David Pickles
Adel El Feky
Annabel Dawson

URL

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/what-we-do/research/projects/orinoco-826.php

Research Area(s)

Other

Other Areas: Data collection in trials

Study Design(s)

Qualitative research; Quantitative research; Questionnaire, interview or observation study; Review

Data Collection Method(s)

Qualitative, Quantitative

Participant(s)

Funding panel or funding committee members; Health professionals; Public contributors; Researchers; Staff in funding organisations

Status

Complete

Stage

Study is complete and only conducting dissemination activities (e.g., stakeholder engagement, presentations, conferences and seminars, social media campaigns)

Study Funding/Support

Study funded through a grant

Dissemination Activity/Activities

Publications (all types); Seminars or workshops; Stakeholder engagement