Williams Rachel, Fitch John, Lary Elaine, Fitch Sarah, SoRelle Melissa, Green Aval-Na'Ree
Birkeland Current, Waco, TX, United States.
Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, Temple, TX, United States.
Front Dement. 2023 Oct 19;2:1271754. doi: 10.3389/frdem.2023.1271754. eCollection 2023.
Under ideal circumstances, recruitment of older adult-caregiver dyads to dementia research is challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional barriers to recruitment, necessitating swift adjustments to pre-pandemic recruitment strategies and schedules. This brief research report describes the challenges, yield, and cost of recruiting older adult-caregiver dyads to an 18-month observational research study during COVID-19. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel in-home sensor system at identifying cognitive change in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) through background monitoring of activities of daily living (ADL). Recruitment methods included flyers distributed alongside home-delivered meals, direct mailings, publicly available brochures, community presentations, periodical advertisements, and various other strategies. Of 510 inquiries, 117 older adult-caregiver dyads were enrolled at a total cost of ~$368,000, yielding an average per dyad recruiting cost of $3,148. Distributing flyers alongside home-delivered meals produced the most dyads ( = 46, 39%) and the least non-labor costs ($24.33) per enrolled dyad. Recruitment during the pandemic exceeded the pre-COVID-19 budget, but enrollment goals were nevertheless achieved through community-based methods. Our experience illustrates the challenge of recruiting older adult-caregiver dyads to dementia research and the value of trusted community partners in recruiting this population. Our strategies and recommendations may benefit researchers who plan to recruit community-based older adults and their caregivers for future dementia research.
在理想情况下，招募老年痴呆症研究的老年照料者二元组具有挑战性。新冠疫情给招募工作带来了额外障碍，这就需要迅速调整疫情前的招募策略和时间表。这份简短的研究报告描述了在新冠疫情期间招募老年照料者二元组参与一项为期18个月的观察性研究的挑战、成果及成本。该研究旨在通过对日常生活活动（ADL）的背景监测，评估一种新型家庭传感器系统在识别患有阿尔茨海默病及相关痴呆症（ADRD）的老年人认知变化方面的有效性。招募方法包括随送餐上门分发传单、直接邮寄、公开宣传册、社区宣讲、期刊广告以及各种其他策略。在510次咨询中，有117个老年照料者二元组被招募，总成本约为36.8万美元，每个二元组的平均招募成本为3148美元。随送餐上门分发传单招募到的二元组最多（n = 46，占39%），且每个招募的二元组的非劳动力成本最低（24.33美元）。疫情期间的招募超出了新冠疫情前的预算，但通过基于社区的方法仍实现了招募目标。我们的经验说明了招募老年照料者二元组参与痴呆症研究的挑战，以及值得信赖的社区合作伙伴在招募这一人群中的价值。我们的策略和建议可能会使计划为未来痴呆症研究招募社区老年人群体及其照料者的研究人员受益。
