Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are regarded as the most internally valid means of estimating the effectiveness of complex public health interventions, but the recruitment of participants can be difficult. The aim of this study was to explore factors that may have affected the recruitment of employees with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to a multicenter worksite health promotion program from the perspective of recruiting case managers. Methods: Factors in recruitment to the RCT were explored using three focus group discussions with case managers. Data were processed using MAXQDA and analyzed with a combination of content and sequence analysis. Results: Findings showed that randomization is a major challenge for recruitment. Case managers adapted their communication with, and approaches to possible participants because of the randomization design and employed coping strategies to compensate for allocation into the control arm of the study. Perceptions of the superiority of the intervention group over the control group, perceptions of the (mis)match of participants to one of the groups, as well as the understanding of the necessity of randomization for effectiveness evaluations, further affected recruitment. Perceived expectations of possible participants and their (emotional) reactions to the randomization allocation also complicated recruitment. Conclusion: We were able to gain insight into the challenges of randomization for the recruitment of participants to a multicenter RCT. This study assisted the development of strategies to overcome barriers in the ongoing implementation process of the trial (i.e., the adaption of best practice information sheets and newsletters). There remains a need to develop effective interventions to help those recruiting to trials.

Boredom has been identified as one of the greatest psychological challenges when staying at home during quarantine and isolation. However, this does not mean that the situation necessarily causes boredom. On the basis of 13 explorative interviews with bored and non-bored persons who have been under quarantine or in isolation, we explain why boredom is related to a subjective interpretation process rather than being a direct consequence of the objective situation. Specifically, we show that participants vary significantly in their interpretations of staying at home and, thus, also in their experience of boredom. While the non-bored participants interpret the situation as a relief or as irrelevant, the bored participants interpret it as a major restriction that only some are able to cope with.

(1) Background: This qualitative study aimed to identify and describe course components which affect a student’s motivation to learn within a blended-learning competency-based curriculum. (2) Methods: The data were gathered via two consecutive semi-structured group interviews. The participants were purposefully sampled from medical students attending the Family Medicine (FM) class at Saarland University (UdS) in Winter 2020. The two interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductively analysed using content analysis. (3) Results: Three categories of curricular components that affected motivation were inductively formed: (a) the provision of structure (curriculum design), where providing external learning milestones to self-regulated learning positively influenced an interviewee’s learning motivation; (b) the provision of interpersonal interactions and emotional relatedness by staff, where constructive feedback and enthusiasm from a teacher facilitated intrinsic motivation and real-life examples helped the students to remember content more easily; and (c) perceived gain in self-efficacy, where a participant’s motivation to learn a particular subject area was especially high if it appeared to be highly relevant to practice or exams and the applicability of the knowledge gained was readily apparent. (4) Conclusions: It is important for educators to be aware of how they influence a student’s motivation. This study may help to provide an orientation on what to avoid and what to include in a curriculum design project to purposefully foster motivation in students.