Table 1 Summary of papers included in the literature review*

Participants factors (Women)

East 2006 [30] n = 600 women

Baker 2005 [22] n = 17 women

Jefferies 2006 [31] n = 48 women

Rodger 2003 ^a [21] n = 50 women

Daniels 2006 [29] n = 262 women

Vnuk 2000 [32] n = 106 women

Kenyon 2006 [16] n = 22

Mohanna 1999 [24] n = 18 women

Rodger 2003 ^a [21]

Participants factors (Babies)

Burgess 2003 [17] n = 72 parents

Hoehn 2005 [34] n = 34 parents

Morley 2005 [35] n = 50 mothers and 48 fathers

Mason 2000 [18] n = parents of 200 infants

Singhal 2002 [23] n = 52 parents of babies in NICU and 106 parents of babies in normal nursery

Snowdon 1999 [33] n = 44 parents

Zupancic 1997 [20] n = 140 parents

Snowdon 2006 [19] n = 78 parents

Clinician factors (Doctors)

Rendell 2006 [48] Cochrane review of 11 observational studies

Singhal 2004 ^b [8] n = 64 doctors

Caldwell 2005 [26] n = 250 paediatricians and 250 physicians

Fallowfield 1997 [25] n = 357 oncologists and surgeons

Somkin 2005 [27] n = 199 oncologists

Clinician factors (Nurses/midwives)

Singhal 2004 ^b [8] n = 50 nurses

Meah 1996 [44] n = 32 midwives

Hicks 1995 [41] Hicks 1995 [42] n = 395 midwives

Brown 2002 [28] n = 27 women recruiters

McSherry 1997 [45] n = 297 nurses and midwives

Roxburgh 2006 [46] n = 7 nurses

Adamsen 2003 [40] n = 79 nurses

Kuuppelomaki 2003 [43] n = 400 community nurses

Watson 2005 [47] n = 485 staff

Strategies to improve recruitment

Gates 2004 [9] n = 0 studies located

Duggal-Beri 2006 [11] n = 27 nurses and 22 medical staff

Homer 2000 [12] n = 1089 women

Hundley 2004 [10] n = 11 studies

Kenyon 2000 [15] n = 64 UK maternity hospitals (total births 230000–240000

Bryant 2005 [57] n = 3 cross-sectional surveys

Moore 1997 [13] n = 3159 women eligible for study

Mapstone 2002 [58] n = 15 RCTs or quasi-RCTs

Peindl 2003 [14] n = 283 and 306 women screened

Watson 2006 [59] n = 14 studies

Trials in other areas of healthcare

Abraham 2006 [39] n = 94 studies of recruitment to surgical trials

Abraham 2006 [49] n = 18 surgeons and 113 patients

Gillan 2000 [4] n = 2 trials

Fayter 2006 [52] n = 56 studies of cancer trials

Ling 2000 [50] n = 1206 patients suitable for palliative care trials

McDonald 2006 [56] n = 114 trials

McDaid 2006 [55] n = 8 studies of cancer trials

Sullivan 2004 [51] n = 16 health professionals

Minority populations

Bartlett 2005 [36] n = 52 trials and 134598 patients (record linkage)

Hussain-Gambles 2004 [53] n = 20 health professionals and 75 patients

Ruggiero 2003 [37] n = 958 eligible women

Wendler 2006 [54] n = 20 studies of consent decisions

Rochon 2004 [38] n = 280 RCTs