Multifaceted approach to minority recruitment for participants in Alzheimer’s Disease research studies

Background

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic adults as compared to white adults, yet 75% of those who participate in AD research are white (1,2,3). Without the full participation of under‐represented groups in clinical research studies and trials, researchers will have limited understanding of how potential treatments work in these communities (4,5).

Method

The study used an iterative, mixed methods approach to enhance the recruitment of URGs for AD research studies. These methods involved targeted direct mailing campaigns, advertising in minority specific media outlets (radio and newspaper), and URG‐specific email outreach. Each encounter offered an opportunity to address concerns and educate while also recruiting potential participants into AD research studies.

Direct mailings were sent to 15,200 under‐represented people (URPs) within a 25‐mile radius of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The direct mailing contained a letter to the URP and a study brochure. Each mailing was in an envelope containing the official VUMC logo. Two weeks after the direct mailing, weekly emails were sent to URPs from the direct mailing list. If there was no response to the email, a second email was sent 4 weeks later. There was a total of 492 URPs that responded, a return of 3.2%. As the number of URPs reaching out from the direct mailing began to slow, additional URP specific advertisements were conducted in minority specific media outlets (radio and newspaper).

Result

Preliminary results have shown that a mixed method approach has been successful in recruiting URGs. From August 2022 to April 2023 (8 months) from the direct mailing campaign, there were 93 URPs prescreened and 38 URPs that completed a screening visit. An additional 29 URPs were prescreened after the minority specific media outlets, and 5 were screened. In comparison, from 2017‐2021, only 18 URPs were prescreened and 6 enrolled into AD research studies.

Conclusion

Our findings show that, direct mailings campaigns can be a highly effective recruitment tool for URP recruitment into AD research studies. The success of the direct mailing campaign was enhanced by utilizing additional methods of contact with the targeted URPs.