More pilot trials could plan to use qualitative data: a meta-epidemiological study

BackgroundPilot trials often use quantitative data such as recruitment rate and retention rate to inform the design and feasibility of a larger trial. However, qualitative data such as patient, healthcare provider, and research staff perceptions of an intervention may also provide insights for a larger trial.MethodsAs part of a larger study investigating the reporting of progression criteria in pilot studies, we sought to determine how often …