Comparison of Recruitment Strategies for Engaging Older Minority Adults: Results From Take Heart. (2nd May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ramsay, Jessica E; Hogan, Cainnear K; Janevic, Mary R; Courser, Rebecca R; Allgood, Kristi L; Connell, Cathleen M
• Editors: Newman, Anne
• Is Part Of: Journals of gerontology. Volume 75:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 922
• Page End: 928
• Publication Date: 2019-05-02
• Subjects: Minority aging -- Health disparities -- Cardiovascular -- Clinical trials -- Minority recruitment; Geriatrics -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; 618.97
• DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glz112
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1079-5006

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Few published studies report lessons learned for recruiting older adults from racial/ethnic minority, low SES communities for behavioral interventions. In this article, we describe recruitment processes and results for Take Heart, a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of an adapted heart disease self-management program for primarily African American, urban, low SES adults 50 years or older living in Detroit. Methods: Older adults were recruited via community-based (CB), electronic medical record (EMR), and in-person hospital clinic (HC) methods. Recruitment processes, demographic characteristics of enrolled participants, yield and cost, lessons learned, and best practices for each method are described. Results: Within 22 months, 1, 478 potential participants were identified, 1, 223 were contacted and 453 enrolled, resulting in an overall recruitment yield of 37%. The CB method had the highest yield at 49%, followed by HC at 36% and EMR at 16%. Of six CB approaches, information sessions and flyers had the highest yields at 60% and 59%, respectively. The average cost of recruiting and enrolling one participant was $142. Conclusions: CB, EMR, and HC methods each made important contributions to reaching our recruitment goal. The CB method resulted in the highest recruitment yield, while EMR had the lowest. Face-to-face interaction with community members and hiring a community health worker were particularly useful in engaging this population. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in urban, minority, low SES populations of older adults.