Successfully Recruiting Adults with a Low Socioeconomic Position into Community-Based Lifestyle Programs: A Qualitative Study on Expert Opinions

Abstract

We explored experts’ perceived challenges and success factors in the recruitment of adults with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) for participation in community-based lifestyle modification programs. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 experienced project coordinators, based on a topic list that included experiences with recruitment, perceived barriers and success factors, and general views on recruitment strategies. Results revealed challenges related to the context of the program (e.g., limited program resources), psychosocial barriers of the participants (e.g., mistrust or skepticism), practical barriers (e.g., low literacy or having other priorities), and reasons to decline participation (e.g., lack of interest or motivation). Success factors were related to securing beneficial contextual and program-related factors (e.g., multi-layered recruitment strategy), establishing contact with the target group (e.g., via existing networks, community key-members), methods to increase engagement (e.g., personal approach and involvement of the target group in the program process) and making participation easier (e.g., providing transport), and providing various types of incentives. Concluding, the group of participants with low SEP covers a wide spectrum of individuals. Therefore, multiple recruitment strategies at multiple layers should be employed, and tailored. The lessons learned of those with hands-on experiences will help to enhance recruitment in future programs.

Determinants of Food Choice and Perceptions of Supermarket-Based Nudging Interventions among Adults with Low Socioeconomic Position: The SUPREME NUDGE Project

“…As it is well-known that SEP is a multidimensional construct, the use of educational level only is likely to be a simplification of reality. Moreover, given the difficulties associated with recruiting individuals with low SEP [ 36 ], we adhered to a broader definition of lower educational than, for example, the definition used by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, for pragmatic reasons. Third, our sample was characterized by a relatively high age, which may limit the generalizability of our findings to younger populations.…”

Attitudes Toward Health, Healthcare, and eHealth of People With a Low Socioeconomic Status: A Community-Based Participatory Approach

“…Nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence to inform researchers and designers about these attitudes. The complexity of studying health values within contrasting sociodemographic environments poses various emotional and ethical challenges such as perceived harms, feelings of stigmatization, and anxiety toward research and the research team (16)(17)(18). As a result, hard-to-reach groups are minimally included in research efforts.…”

Adapting Citizen Science to Improve Health in an Occupational Setting: Preliminary Results of a Qualitative Study

“…They concluded that employees did not have the knowledge and skills to correctly estimate their own health risk, which was a barrier to participate in a lifestyle intervention [ 18 ]. In addition, another qualitative study regarding the successful recruitment of adults with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) into community-based lifestyle programs [ 19 ] acknowledged the educational differences of researchers and target groups as a barrier. Therefore, the experts highly recommend consultation of the target groups in the design of promotion strategies for a successful recruitment [ 19 ].…”

“…In addition, another qualitative study regarding the successful recruitment of adults with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) into community-based lifestyle programs [ 19 ] acknowledged the educational differences of researchers and target groups as a barrier. Therefore, the experts highly recommend consultation of the target groups in the design of promotion strategies for a successful recruitment [ 19 ]. A recent review on the effectiveness of WHPPs [ 20 ] showed that WHPPs were more effective among population groups such as blue-collar workers if the participants were involved in the design and implementation of WHPPs.…”

“…Hinckson et al [ 33 ] described that citizen science provides a way to facilitate partnerships between researchers and citizens. Researchers share scientific knowledge with citizens regarding health issues in their community [ 19 , 33 ]. There are different types of involvement of citizens to participate in citizen science.…”