Schoenfeld E R, Greene J M, Wu S Y, O'Leary E, Forte F, Leske M C
Department of Preventive Medicine, University Medical Center at Stony Brook, NY 11794-8036, USA.
Ann Epidemiol. 2000 Oct;10(7):432-40. doi: 10.1016/s1047-2797(00)00067-3.
Recruiting participants is a major challenge for population studies. We present the recruitment methods followed by the Diabetic Retinopathy Awareness Program (DRAP), a community-based, randomized, masked, controlled trial to meet and exceed its sample size goals.
A county-wide multi-media promotional campaign to recruit and enroll participants in the trial was planned and executed from October 1993 through April 1994, with the assistance of the local news media and community and professional groups. A toll-free 800 number recruitment line was established, and postage-paid recruitment postcards distributed. The trial was designed to examine whether a mailed educational intervention could increase compliance with vision care guidelines among persons with diabetes in the community.
A total of 2308 persons with diabetes were interviewed for eligibility and 813 enrolled in the intervention trial, exceeding the original recruitment goals of 1800 and 600, respectively. Those who completed the enrollment interview reflected county demographics. During recruitment, newspaper, television and radio stories featured the study; pharmacies and physician offices displayed study materials; public service announcements appeared in local print and broadcast media. The largest single recruitment response was a local television news report, followed by a newspaper story.
These experiences substantiate the need for a comprehensive coordinated approach, using planned multiple sources, to achieve recruitment success. By engaging the lay and professional communities along with the media, recruitment costs can be kept to a minimum. Participant costs can be minimized by employing a toll-free number and eliminating study participant travel, thus allowing for inclusion of traditionally underserved populations. This approach is applicable to other studies, where community-based participation is desired.
招募参与者是人群研究的一项重大挑战。我们介绍了糖尿病视网膜病变认知项目（DRAP）所采用的招募方法，该项目是一项基于社区的随机、盲法、对照试验，旨在达到并超过其样本量目标。
在当地新闻媒体以及社区和专业团体的协助下，于1993年10月至1994年4月策划并实施了一项全县范围的多媒体宣传活动，以招募并使参与者加入该试验。设立了一个免费的800招募热线，并分发了邮资已付的招募明信片。该试验旨在检验邮寄教育干预措施是否能提高社区糖尿病患者对视力保健指南的依从性。
共有2308名糖尿病患者接受了资格面试，813人参加了干预试验，分别超过了最初招募1800人和600人的目标。完成招募面试的人员反映了该县的人口统计学特征。在招募期间，报纸、电视和广播报道了该研究；药店和医生办公室展示了研究资料；公共服务公告出现在当地的印刷和广播媒体上。最大的单次招募回应是一则当地电视新闻报道，其次是一篇报纸报道。
这些经验证实了需要采用一种全面协调的方法，利用多种预先规划的渠道来实现招募成功。通过让普通民众、专业团体以及媒体参与进来，可以将招募成本降至最低。通过使用免费电话并消除研究参与者的出行需求，参与者的成本也可降至最低，从而能够纳入传统上服务不足的人群。这种方法适用于其他希望实现基于社区参与的研究。
