A randomized trial to assess the effect of a research informational pamphlet on telephone survey completion rates among older Latinos

Abstract

Purpose of the study To assess the effects of receiving a research informational pamphlet produced by the federal Office for Human Research Protections on telephone survey participation rates of older Latinos, and illustrate the feasibility of nesting recruitment studies within other funded studies when stand alone funding for recruitment studies is limited. Design and Methods Latino patients aged ≥ 50 with ≥1 visit during the preceding year (N=1,314) were sampled from three community clinics and a multi-specialty medical group. Patients were randomly assigned to receive or not receive a pamphlet that contained information on research participation in the initial mailing for the telephone survey study. Survey participation rates were compared between the pamphlet and no pamphlet groups. Results In a multivariate model, women (OR=1.4; 95% CI 1.1, 1.8), and those with public insurance (vs. no insurance; OR=1.7; 95% CI 1.1, 2.5) were more likely to participate, while those age 65+ (vs. age 50–54; OR=0.6; 95% CI 0.4, 0.8) were less likely to participate; there was no significant difference by pamphlet group (OR=0.8; 95% CI 0.7, 1.1). Nesting of the randomized trial of the recruitment pamphlet within the funded study required minimal additional resources. Implications Recruitment methods that are more intensive than a pamphlet may be needed to enhance survey participation rates among older Latinos. Nesting recruitment trials within funded studies is a promising and efficient approach for testing recruitment strategies.

Recruitment and baseline characteristics of the Community of Voices choir study to promote the health and well-being of diverse older adults

“…Barriers to participation of minority older adults in research include narrow study eligibility criteria, language, transportation, multiple comorbidities, and lower health literacy rates [39] . Partnering with community-based organizations may help mitigate these barriers and help academic researchers design recruitment strategies that work best with minority and underserved populations [19] .…”

“…The sampling frame included persons already attending each senior center and those within each of the senior center's geographic service area. Similar to our previous work recruiting ethnically diverse, lower-SES adults [16] , [19] , we used multiple methods (e.g., flyers, presentations, word-of-mouth, and radio) shared with the senior centers and local community organizations, utilized a research team that reflected the diversity of the community (including bilingual and bicultural research associates), and completed all recruitment and screening assessment procedures in the ecommunity at each of the senior centers. The research team spent three months (2–3 days per week) on-site at each senior center to answer questions about the study and complete the screening and enrollment process.…”

‘Born in Michigan? You're in the Biobank': Engaging Population Biobank Participants through Facebook Advertisements

“…Some studies have examined cost effectiveness of health communications, but are not as well suited to comparison for our study, given their focus on specific high-risk or populations under-represented in research (e.g. [39, 40] ), interventions in the developing world and/or health behavior change outcomes (e.g. [41] ).…”