Recruiting the Oldest-Old for Clinical Research

This report shows the feasibility of recruiting individuals age 90 and older into longitudinal clinical research and provides preliminary guidance related to the effectiveness of recruitment strategies. The recruited sample is representative of the U.S. oldest-old with respect to sex but is more educated, much like other research in this age group.

Community outreach produced the highest number of new enrollees but at the greatest cost. Recruitment activities with age-appropriate individuals yielded the most enrollees. After community outreach, earned media produced the most enrollments and did so at lower cost. Direct mailings were not a cost-effective recruitment strategy when targeting the oldest-old. Direct mail was least effective with those age 96 and older.

Melikyan ZA, Greenia DE, Corrada MM. Recruiting the oldest-old for clinical research. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders 2019;33(2):160-162.