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Engaging veterans with substance abuse disorders into a research trial: success with study branding, networking, and presence

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Recruiting and retaining clients in health interventions can be challenging especially when targeting multiple behavior change in high-risk populations. To inform the methods of trials working with similarly complex clinical populations, we describe multi-pronged efforts to recruit and retain a representative sample. In a two-group RCT, veterans were recruited from a Veteran Affairs Medical Center. The goal was to enroll 200 participants over a 25-month period, and to exceed 70 % follow-up for all treatment arms. To meet these goals, a four-pronged strategy was developed: branding, outreach/networking, onsite presence, and incentives. In month 1, 32 % of the proposed sample size was met (n = 64), and by month 2, 45 % (n = 90); the recruitment goal (n = 200) was achieved 13 months ahead of schedule. Retention exceeds 90 % at all time points out to 18 months. The multipronged recruitment and retention plan was efficient, cost effective, and may generalize to other health promotion initiatives.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the clinical team that provided valuable treatment referrals and support throughout the duration of the trial, including Peter Banys, MD; Steven Batki, MD; Ricky Chen, RN; William Clift, AT; Ellen Herbst, MD; Patricia Lane, RN; and Rebecca Young, RN. We acknowledge Pro-Change Behavior Systems Inc., which developed the multiple risk behavior change intervention evaluated in this trial. We also acknowledge the contributions of research staff Carson Benowitz-Fredericks and Erin Dougherty who worked with participants in this trial. Study supported by the National Institutes of Health grant #P50DA09253

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0984, USA

    Anne Kathryn Michalek B.S.

  2. San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA

    David Kan M.D.

  3. Stanford Prevention Research Center, Medical School Office Building, X316, 1265 Welch Road, Stanford, CA, 94305-5411, USA

    Judith Prochaska Ph.D. M.P.H.

Authors
  1. Anne Kathryn Michalek B.S.
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  2. David Kan M.D.
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  3. Judith Prochaska Ph.D. M.P.H.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Judith Prochaska Ph.D. M.P.H..

Additional information

Implications

Practice: Individuals with addiction problems often have additional risk behaviors in need of treatment but can be challenging to engage, so practitioners need to consider multiple strategies for outreach and ongoing engagement in health interventions.

Research: For maximizing external validity of research findings, researchers ought to utilize a multi-pronged approach for efficient recruitment and strong retention.

Policy: Investments in treatment programs need to consider planning and resources for outreach and ongoing engagement.

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Michalek, A.K., Kan, D. & Prochaska, J. Engaging veterans with substance abuse disorders into a research trial: success with study branding, networking, and presence. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 5, 167–176 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0302-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0302-z

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