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Using Vignette-Based Methodology to Examine Study Recruitment in Older African American Adults: A Methods Paper

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Abstract

This study’s objective was to assess which caring recruitment behaviors correlate with the successful recruitment of older African-American adults—a two-step cross-sectional design employing a vignette-based survey methodology. Kristen Swanson’s middle-range theory of caring was used to guide the examination of African-American adults’ (65 years of age and older) perceptions of research-study-recruiter recruitment behaviors. This study’s main findings are twofold: Step 1: Seven of ten invited experts identified major revisions of the two core vignettes, written at an eighth-grade reading level and high school comprehension. Step 2: A 51% response rate yielded findings that this methodology successfully captured older African-American adults’ perception of research study recruiters’ behavioral characteristics during the recruitment process. Older African-Americans who received the hypothetical caring vignette were twice as likely to indicate their willingness to enroll in a research study with a high commitment (i.e., brain donation) compared to their counterparts who received the hypothetical uncaring recruitment scenario. Vignette-based survey methodology holds promise as a tool for informing the recruitment of older African-American adults and other minorities into federally funded health-related research studies.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to Michael Schoeny, Ph.D., and Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, for working through the research design for this pilot work. Julian S. Gamboa, J.D., for structural guidance on the manuscript. Tania Rivero, reference librarian, for assistance in developing the key terms and retrieving the literature. Advanced Clinical Research Practicum Committee Jen’nea Sumo, Ph.D., R.N.; Karen Kavanaugh, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN; Ana Capuano, M.P.S., M.S., Ph.D. A special thank you to Olimpia Paun, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, for introducing the author to the theoretical framework. Dr. Kristen Swanson RN, Ph.D., FAAN, for authorization to modify and utilize Swanson’s middle range theory of caring as the theoretical framework and the Caring Professional Scale used in this study. Mr. Franklin Cosey-Gay, Ph.D., MPH, for his invaluable contribution to the culturally appropriate laguage used in the vignettes. We all have a great appreciation for the Minority Aging Research Study Principal Investigator, Lisa L. Barnes, Ph.D., and the participants of the Minority Aing Research Study who agreed to participate and the individuals who refused to participate in this study.

Funding

Rush University College of Nursing Golden Lamp Society — awarded the Diane Cronin-Stubbs Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina Street | Suite 1080, Chicago, Illinois, 60612, USA

    Charlene J. Gamboa, Wrenetha A. Julion & Louis Fogg

  2. University of California, Irvine, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, California, CA, USA

    Dawn T. Bounds

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  1. Charlene J. Gamboa
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Correspondence to Charlene J. Gamboa.

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This study was approved by the Rush University Medical Center Institutional Review Board.

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Gamboa, C.J., Julion, W.A., Fogg, L. et al. Using Vignette-Based Methodology to Examine Study Recruitment in Older African American Adults: A Methods Paper. J Urban Health 98 (Suppl 2), 103–114 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-021-00567-6

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