Recruiting colorectal cancer survivors to a surveillance study: Barriers and successful strategies.
Marvella E Ford, Katherine R Sterba, James D Bearden and 3 others
PMID 28277291WHAT IT FOUND
Recruiting colorectal cancer survivors for surveillance research is difficult.
Low participation was driven by transportation costs, fear of discussing bowel symptoms in groups, and mistrust of cancer centers. Registry-led contact and flexible scheduling improved recruitment.
Key findings
01Participants cited fear of discussing bowel discomfort and flatulence in focus groups as a barrier to attending in-person sessions.
02African American participants had a threefold higher rate of passive refusal (not responding to calls) compared to European Americans.
03Lack of transportation and the cost of long phone interviews were significant economic barriers to participation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is descriptive and reports on recruitment processes rather than testing an intervention, so it cannot prove which strategies definitively work. Participants who agreed to join were likely more engaged in their care and had positive treatment experiences, creating a selection bias that excludes those with negative experiences or poorer health. Data on age and other demographics were missing for many participants in the cognitive interview phase.
Declared interests
One author is a member of the Eli Lilly Minority Recruitment and Retention Advisory Board. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these recruitment strategies are proven to work. This paper describes what happened during a specific study's attempt to recruit people, not a controlled test of which methods are best.