Strategies for Recruitment and Retention of Families From Low-Income, Ethnic Minority Backgrounds in a Longitudinal Study of Caregiver Feeding and Child Weight

Abstract

Background Children from low-SES and ethnic minority backgrounds are at heightened risk for overweight, yet are underrepresented in the pediatric obesity literature. Methods The current paper describes strategies employed to minimize barriers to recruitment and retention of African-American families receiving WIC services in a longitudinal study examining caregiver feeding and child weight. Results Seventy-six families enrolled in the study over 3.5 years, and 50% of the families completed the study. Implications for Practice Despite effortful planning, unanticipated barriers likely contributed to lengthy recruitment and a modest retention rate. Future research should incorporate lessons learned to modify and develop effective strategies for increasing engagement of low-SES and ethnic minority families in research.

Lessons learned: Engaging culturally diverse families in neurodevelopmental disorders intervention research

“…Within the DOI framework, close collaboration with trusted community agencies can accelerate the process of awareness and adoption of new strategies. In considering ways to reach low-income families, and Latino families specifically, schools are a powerful resource, as they are often trusted entities within the Latino community and are able to build relationships with families over time (Brannon et al, 2013), which enabled the research team to build community trust more quickly. Importantly, this choice involved not simply using schools as research or recruitment sites but rather working collaboratively with schools to provide them with the support, training, and resources needed to have school staff implement the intervention directly with their students.…”

“…Extra time is needed in order for the research team themselves to build a reputation in the community, form relationships, and develop trust with the community. As numerous other researchers have shared, personal contact between the research team and participants ( personalismo ) is critical to recruitment and retention of participants (Brannon et al, 2013; Cabral, 2003; Skaff et al, 2002). As a new entity in these communities, the research team had some difficulty in recruiting the targeted number of families for participation during the first year of the study.…”

Reach and representativeness of ethnic minority women in the Health Is Power Study: a longitudinal analysis

“…Representativeness is a particularly important consideration as the findings can only be generalized to those represented in the study, affecting the practicality of translating research to action. People from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds and ethnic minorities may be more likely to dropout compared to wealthier and white populations, often attributed to dissatisfaction with the research experience such as lack of motivation, dissatisfaction with results, feelings of abandonment, a lack of encouragement or poor social support, the belief one can accomplish the study goal without assistance, other personal reasons (e.g., work interference, lack of time, stress), healthcare system issues (e.g., lack of flexibility in scheduling appointments), and study design (e.g., difficult study regimes) [1,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Accelerometer data treatment for adolescents: Fitting a piece of the puzzle

“…Yet, Pacific youth are generally under-represented in PA and health research. The need to include youth from a range of sociodemographic groups in health research is recognised as important but challenging (e.g., due to logistical barriers such as transport or conflicting priorities, and implicit attitudinal barriers such as mistrust or differentiation) (Brannon et al, 2013). Study Preventive Medicine Reports 5 (2017) …”