Seeds of HOPE

Community engagement strategies to promote recruitment and participation in clinical research among rural communities: A narrative review

“…Most of these relied on community engagement for successful recruitment of research participants. Involvement of community personnel (n = 46) [ 17 – 62 ], feedback (n = 22) [ 18 , 20 , 23 , 25 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 38 , 42 – 45 , 49 , 51 – 53 , 55 – 57 , 61 , 62 ], and customization of recruitment materials and processes in accordance with the characteristics of the community (n = 17) [ 19 , 22 , 25 – 27 , 32 , 34 , 45 , 47 – 50 , 52 , 56 , 58 , 61 , 63 ] were mentioned most frequently. Some other recruitment strategies included providing remuneration (either for participants or for community personnel) (n = 14) [ 19 , 23 , 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 42 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 54 , 58 , 61 ] and utilizing local spaces and events (n = 15) [ 19 , 21 , 22 , 28 – 30 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 46 , 56 , 58 – 60 , 63 ].…”

“…Some of the benefits of collaboration with community personnel include increased trust, improved participant recruitment, partnership between the research group and the locals, production of specialized materials and processes, and addressing the needs of the community. Furthermore, Hopper and colleagues [ 18 ] showed that early dedication of time and resources to engage community participation generated well-informed intervention and procedures, both of which were more easily accepted and effectively disseminated within the community.…”

“…Although it was not included in the original inclusion criteria, partnership with local organizations, which is essential in establishing relationships in rural communities, was mentioned in 29 studies [17,18,22 The majority of partnerships were formed with faith-based organizations (70%) and/or local health-related facilities (55%). Additionally, some other organizations involved as partners in the research were local businesses, schools or educational institutions, and general local community organizations.…”

“…Although it was not included in the original inclusion criteria, partnership with local organizations, which is essential in establishing relationships in rural communities, was mentioned in 29 studies [ 17 , 18 , 22 , 24 , 26 – 29 , 32 , 35 – 43 , 47 , 48 , 50 – 52 , 55 , 56 , 59 – 61 , 64 ]. The majority of partnerships were formed with faith-based organizations (70%) and/or local health-related facilities (55%).…”

“…Collaboration was the level of community engagement in fifteen articles [18,20,23,27,31,35,37,40,43,44,[49][50][51][52]64]. In these studies, community members were involved in numerous phases of the research, including problem assessment, recruitment, data collection, and evaluation.…”