Strategies to Enhance Participant Recruitment and Retention in Research Involving a Community-Based Population

This paper discusses a variety of methods that were successful in exceeding target recruitment and retention goals in a randomized clinical trial of hearing protector use among farm operators. Recruitment and retention strategies were: based on a philosophy of mutually beneficial engagement in the research process, culturally appropriate, tailored to the unique needs of partnering agencies, and developed and refined in a cyclical and iterative process. These approaches may result in enhanced participant recruitment and retention, containment of study costs, and timely accomplishment of study aims.

McCullagh MC, Sanon MA, Cohen MA. Strategies to enhance participant recruitment and retention in research involving a community-based population. Applied Nursing Research 2014;27(4):249-253.