Recruitment of Older Adults: Success May Be in the Details

The authors describe strategies used to recruit older adults to a clinical trial of a behavioral intervention to improve adherence to taking antihypertensive medication. Four themes are explored: accessing an appropriate population, communication and trust-building, providing comfort and security, and expressing gratitude. Recruitment success was linked to cultivating relationships with community-based organizations, face-to-face contact with potential study participants, and providing a service (e.g., blood pressure checks) as an access point to eligible participants. Seventy-two percent of potential participants who completed a follow-up call and met eligibility criteria were enrolled in the study. The attrition rate was 14.34 percent.

McHenry JC, Insel KC, Einstein GO, et al. Recruitment of older adults: Success may be in the details. The Gerontologist 2015;55(5):845-853.