Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences pp 71–98Cite as

Recruitment of Research Participants

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:

Abstract

Successful recruitment and retention of study participants are essential for the overall success of a research study. The recruitment process involves identifying potential research participants and providing them with the information to establish their interest to join a proposed research study. Research studies are often time and labor intensive, and inappropriate recruitment of research participants can significantly impact the study findings. This chapter will introduce readers to a range of associated issues and offer possible solutions and mitigation strategies to enhance research participant engagement. First, this chapter describes the issues surrounding investigators’ and potential participants’ expectations related to their involvement in research. Next, the chapter will identify the facilitators, barriers, and challenges associated with recruitment and retention of participant. Then, the chapter will highlight some traditional and modern recruitment and retention techniques, for participation in health research across the life course: children and adolescents, adults, and seniors. Last, the chapter will detail the specific attention, resources, and sensitivity required to maximize recruitment and retention when conducting research with specific population groups such as minority populations and medically compromised people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   649.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   849.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams J, Silverman M, Musa D, Peele P. Recruiting older adults for clinical trials. Control Clin Trials. 1997;18(1):14–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alibali MW, Nathan MJ. Conducting research in schools: a practical guide. J Cogn Dev. 2010;11(4):397–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arora A, Bedros D, Bhole S, Do LG, Scott J, Blinkhorn A, Schwarz E. Child and family health nurses’ experiences of oral health of preschool children: a qualitative approach. J Public Health Dent. 2012;72(2):149–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arora A, Manohar N, Liamputtong P, Do LG, Eastwood J, Bhole S. Researching the perceptions of Vietnamese migrant caregivers for an oral health literacy study in Australia. SAGE research methods cases. London: Sage; 2017b. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526423320.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Arora A, Manohar N, Bedros D, Hua APD, You SYH, Blight V, Ajwani S, Eastwood J, Bhole S. Lessons learnt in recruiting disadvantaged families to a birth cohort study. BMC Nursing. 2018;17(7):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-018-0276-0.

  • Auster J, Janda M. Recruiting older adults to health research studies: a systematic review. Australas J Ageing. 2009;28(3):149–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government Productivity Commission. Early childhood education and care. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2015/childcare-education-and-training/early-childhood-education-and-care/rogs-2015-volumeb-chapter3.pdf

  • Bartlett R, Wright T, Olarinde T, Holmes T, Beamon ER, Wallace D. Schools as sites for recruiting participants and implementing research. J Community Health Nurs. 2017;34(2):80–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry DC, Neal M, Hall EG, McMurray RG, Schwartz TA, Skelly AH, Smith-Miller C. Recruitment and retention strategies for a community-based weight management study for multi-ethnic elementary school children and their parents. Public Health Nurs. 2013;30(1):80–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonevski B, Randell M, Paul C, Chapman K, Twyman L, Bryant J,… Hughes C. Reaching the hard-to-reach: a systematic review of strategies for improving health and medical research with socially disadvantaged groups. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2014;14(1):42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-14-42.

  • Bower P, Brueton V, Gamble C, Treweek S, Smith CT, Young B, Williamson P. Interventions to improve recruitment and retention in clinical trials: a survey and workshop to assess current practice and future priorities. Trials. 2014;15(1):399. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-15-399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brugge D, Kole A, Lu W, Must A. Susceptibility of elderly Asian immigrants to persuasion with respect to participation in research. J Immigr Minor Health. 2005;2(7):93–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruzzese JM, Gallagher R, McCann-Doyle S, Reiss PT, Wijetunga NA. Effective methods to improve recruitment and retention in school-based substance use prevention studies. J Sch Health. 2009;79(9):400–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell PH, Hamilton S, Tan A, Craig JC. Strategies for increasing recruitment to randomised controlled trials: systematic review. PLoS Med. 2010;7(11):e1000368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesser AK, Woods NK, Smothers K, Rogers N. Health literacy and older adults a systematic review. Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2016;2:2333721416630492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiu CL, Hearn NL, Lind JM. Development of a risk score for extraintestinal manifestations of coeliac disease. Medicine (United States). 2016;95(15):1–6. [e3286]. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000003286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemson L, Cumming RG, Kendig H, Swann M, Heard R, Taylor K. The effectiveness of a community-based program for reducing the incidence of falls in the elderly: a randomized trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004;52(9):1487–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clinical Connection. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.clinicalconnection.com/

  • Craig SL, Austin A, McInroy LB. School-based groups to support multiethnic sexual minority youth resiliency: preliminary effectiveness. Child Adolesc Soc Work J. 2014;31(1):87–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CraigsList. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/vol

  • Daley AM. Adolescent-friendly remedies for the challenges of focus group research. West J Nurs Res. 2013;35(8):1043–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endometriosis Australia. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/EndometriosisAustralia.

  • Farmer D, Jackson S, Camacho F, Hall M. Attitudes of African American and low socioeconomic status white women toward medical research. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2007;18(1):85–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford ME, Havstad SL, Davis SD. A randomized trial of recruitment methods for older African American men in the prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial. Clin Trials. 2004;1(4):343–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George S, Duran N, Norris K. A systematic review of barriers and facilitators to minority research participation among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Am J Public Health. 2014;104(2):e16–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giarelli E, Bruner D, Nguyen E, Basham S, Marathe P, Dao D, … Nguyen G. Research participation among Asian American women at risk for cervical cancer: exploratory pilot of barriers and enhancers. J Immigr Minor Health. 2011;13(6):1055–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glasser SP. Recruitment and retention in clinical research. In: Glasser SP, editor. Essentials of clinical research. Switzerland: Springer International; 2014. p. 177–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayfield N, Huxley C. Insider and outsider perspectives: reflections on researcher identities in research with lesbian and bisexual women. Qual Res Psychol. 2015;12(2):91–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson R, Simmons DS, Bourke L, Muir J. Development of guidelines for non-indigenous people undertaking research among the indigenous population of north-east Victoria. Med J Aust. 2002;176(10):482–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibberd S. Involving children and their parents in research design. Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(9):e2–e2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulley SB, Cummings SR, Browner WS, Grady DG, Newman TB. Designing clinical research. An epidemiological approach. 2nd ed. London: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jancey J, Howat P, Lee A, Clarke A, Shilton T, Fisher J, Iredell H. Effective recruitment and retention of older adults in physical activity research: PALS study. Am J Health Behav. 2006;30(6):626–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson M, George A, Dahlen H, Ajwani S, Bhole S, Blinkhorn A, … Yeo A. The midwifery initiated oral health-dental service protocol: an intervention to improve oral health outcomes for pregnant women. BMC Oral Health. 2015;15(2):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-15-2.

  • Join Dementia Research. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/

  • Joseph R, Keller C, Ainsworth B. Recruiting participants into pilot trials: techniques for researchers with shoestring budgets. Californian J Health Promot. 2016;14(2):81–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee GE, Ow M, Lie D, Dent R. Barriers and facilitators for clinical trial participation among diverse Asian patients with breast cancer: a qualitative study. BMC Womens Health. 2016;16(43):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-016-0319-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liamputtong P. Researching the vulnerable: a guide to sensitive research methods. London: SAGE Publications; 2007.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Liamputtong P. Performing qualitative cross-cultural research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2010.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Liamputtong P. Qualitative research methods. 4th ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liamputtong P. The science of words and the science of number. In: Liamputtong P, editor. Research methods in health: foundations of evidence-based practice. 3rd ed. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press; 2017. p. 3–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liljas AE, Jovicic A, Kharicha K, Iliffe S, Manthorpe J, Goodman C, Walters K. Facilitators and barriers for recruiting and engaging hard-to-reach older people to health promotion interventions and related research: a systematic review. Lancet. 2015;386:S51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manohar N, Liamputtong P, Bhole S, Arora A. Researcher positionality in cross-cultural and sensitive research. In: Liamputtong P, editor. Handbook of research methods in health social sciences. Singapore: Springer; 2017. p. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_35-1.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mapstone J, Elbourne D, Roberts I. Strategies to improve recruitment to research studies. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;2:MR000013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinson BE, Hindman DB. Building a health promotion agenda in local newspapers. Health Educ Res. 2005;20(1):51–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell AE, Bastani R, Vida P, Warda US. Strategies to recruit and retain older Filipino–american immigrants for a cancer screening study. J Community Health. 2005;30(3):167–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald AM, Knight RC, Campbell MK, Entwistle VA, Grant AM, Cook JA, … Roberts I. What influences recruitment to randomised controlled trials? A review of trials funded by two UK funding agencies. Trials. 2006;7(9):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-7-9.

  • McMurdo ME, Roberts H, Parker S, Wyatt N, May H, Goodman C, … Ali K. Improving recruitment of older people to research through good practice. Age Ageing. 2011;40(6):659–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishna F, Muskat B, Cook C. Anticipating challenges: school-based social work intervention research. Child Sch. 2012;34(3):135–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musiat P, Winsall M, Orlowski S, Antezana G, Schrader G, Battersby M, Bidargaddi N. Paid and unpaid online recruitment for health interventions in young adults. J Adolesc Health: Off Publ Soc Adolesc Med. 2016;59(6):662–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Health and Medical Research Council. National statement on ethical conduct in human research. Canberra: NHMRC; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Institute of Ageing. Recruiting older adults into research (ROAR) toolkit overview and user guide. 2015. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/d7/roar_user_guide.pdf

  • Ngune I, Jiwa M, Dadich A, Lotriet J, Sriram D. Effective recruitment strategies in primary care research: a systematic review. Qual Prim Care. 2012;20(2):115–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen-Smith AA, Woodyatt C, Sineath RC, Hunkeler EM, Barnwell LT, Graham A, … Goodman M. Perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of participation in health research among transgender people. Transgender Health. 2016;1(1):187–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel MX, Doku V, Tennakoon L. Challenges in recruitment of research participants. Adv Psychiatr Treat. 2003;9(3):229–38. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.9.3.229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quay T, Frimer L, Janssen P, Lamers Y. Barriers and facilitators to recruitment of South Asians to health research: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2017;7(5):e014889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsden I. Cultural safety and nursing education in Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • ResearchMatch. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.researchmatch.org/

  • Robinson KA, Dinglas VD, Sukrithan V, Yalamanchilli R, Mendez-Tellez PA, Dennison-Himmelfarb C, et al. Updated systematic review identifies substantial number of retention strategies: using more strategies retains more study participants. J Clin Epidemiol. 2015;68(12):1481–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez LL, Hanna KE, Federman DD. The participant-investigator interface. In: Rodriguez LL, Hanna KE, Federman DD, editors. Responsible research: a systems approach to protecting research participants. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2003. p. 108–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santoyo-Olsson J, Cabrera J, Freyre R, Grossman M, Alvarez N, Mathur D, … Stewart AL. An innovative multiphased strategy to recruit underserved adults into a randomized trial of a community-based diabetes risk reduction program. Gerontologist. 2011;51(suppl_1):S82–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satar MMA, Abdel-Raouf O, Baset MA, El-henawy I. Altruism as a tool for optimization: literature review. Int J Eng Trends Technol. 2015;22(6):270–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sengupta S, Strauss R, DeVellis R, Quinn S, DeVellis B, Ware W. Factors affecting African-American participation in AIDS research. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2000;24(3):275–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons D, Voyle JA. Reaching hard-to-reach, high-risk populations: piloting a health promotion and diabetes disease prevention programme on an urban marae in New Zealand. Health Promot Int. 2003;18(1):41–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein MA, Shaffer M, Echo-Hawk A, Smith J, Stapleton A, Melvin A. Research START: a multimethod study of barriers and accelerators of recruiting research participants. Clin Transl Sci. 2015;8(6):647–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trialfacts. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://trialfacts.com/

  • UCL Research Ethics Committee. Guidance note 1: research involving children. 2016. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://ethics.grad.ucl.ac.uk/forms/guidance1.pdf

  • Voyle J, Simmons D. Community development through partnership: promoting health in an urban indigenous community in New Zealand. Soc Sci Med. 1999;49(8):1035–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh R. Helping or hurting: are adolescent intervention programs minimizing racial inequality? Educ Urban Soc. 2011;43(3):370–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welton A, Vickers M, Cooper J, Meade T, Marteau T. Is recruitment more difficult with a placebo arm in randomised controlled trials? A quasirandomised, interview based study. Br Med J. 1999;318(7191):1114–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. Bull World Health Organ. 2001;79(4):373–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyatt SB, Diekelmann N, Henderson F, Andrew ME, Billingsley G, Felder SH, Fuqua S. A community-driven model of research participation: the Jackson Heart Study Participant Recruitment and Retention Study. Ethn Dis. 2003;13(4):438–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyke S, Hunt K, Gray CM, Fenwick E, Bunn C, Donnan PT, … Boyer N. Football Fans in Training (FFIT): a randomised controlled trial of a gender-sensitised weight loss and healthy living programme for men–end of study report. Public Health Res. 2015;3(2):1–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Younger Onset Dementia Support Group. 2017. Retrieved 23 Nov 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/YoungOnsetDementiaSupportGroup

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Narendar Manohar & Amit Arora

  2. School of Science and Health and Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Freya MacMillan

  3. NICM and Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Genevieve Z. Steiner

  4. Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Amit Arora

  5. Oral Health Services, Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Dental Hospital, NSW Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Amit Arora

  6. COHORTE Research Group, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia

    Amit Arora

Authors
  1. Narendar Manohar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Freya MacMillan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Genevieve Z. Steiner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amit Arora
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Narendar Manohar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Pranee Liamputtong

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Manohar, N., MacMillan, F., Steiner, G.Z., Arora, A. (2019). Recruitment of Research Participants. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_75

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation