Botey Anna Pujadas, Brierley Meaghan, Stiphout Michelle, Robson Paula J
Cancer Strategic Clinical Network, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada.
School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Health Expect. 2025 Jun;28(3):e70306. doi: 10.1111/hex.70306.
Engaging diverse populations is critical for designing effective healthcare initiatives. However, strategies for recruiting participants to ensure meaningful engagement, particularly among harder-to-reach groups, remain underexplored. This study examines recruitment approaches used in the Alberta Cancer Diagnosis Initiative (ACDI) in Alberta, Canada, to address challenges in cancer diagnosis.
A qualitative study, including seven interviews and four focus groups with 10 members of the ACDI project team (none of them patients or community members) and a review of 20 internal ACDI documents, was undertaken. Data were analysed using inductive coding, focusing on identifying recruitment strategies for engaging participants from diverse groups and considerations for facilitating recruitment.
Early commitment to diversity and relationship-building informed recruitment strategies, including working with community brokers and health system navigators. Barriers included a limited time within the grant cycle to develop strong relationships with population groups. The team's capacity to learn from emerging issues, like intersectionality and language, was crucial to developing an adaptive approach to recruitment.
Tailored and adaptive strategies, particularly broker- and community-based approaches, are crucial for engaging diverse groups. Lessons learned can inform future initiatives seeking to involve these groups in healthcare decision-making and programme development.
Patients and community members were actively involved in the ACDI during its planning and development. Their contributions informed engagement activities, ensuring the inclusion of diverse perspectives. This study examined the ACDI project team's perspectives on recruitment strategies and lessons learned, highlighting the importance of adaptive, community-based approaches in engaging diverse participants.
让不同人群参与进来对于设计有效的医疗保健举措至关重要。然而，招募参与者以确保有意义的参与的策略，尤其是在难以接触到的群体中，仍未得到充分探索。本研究考察了加拿大艾伯塔省癌症诊断倡议（ACDI）中所采用的招募方法，以应对癌症诊断方面的挑战。
开展了一项定性研究，包括对ACDI项目团队的10名成员（均非患者或社区成员）进行7次访谈和4次焦点小组讨论，并对20份ACDI内部文件进行审查。使用归纳编码对数据进行分析，重点是确定从不同群体中招募参与者的策略以及促进招募的考虑因素。
对多样性和关系建立的早期承诺为招募策略提供了指导，包括与社区中介和卫生系统导航员合作。障碍包括在拨款周期内与人群群体建立牢固关系的时间有限。团队从交叉性和语言等新出现的问题中学习的能力对于制定适应性招募方法至关重要。
量身定制的适应性策略，尤其是基于中介和社区的方法，对于吸引不同群体至关重要。吸取的经验教训可为未来旨在让这些群体参与医疗保健决策和项目开发的举措提供参考。
患者和社区成员在ACDI的规划和开发过程中积极参与。他们的贡献为参与活动提供了信息，确保纳入了不同的观点。本研究考察了ACDI项目团队对招募策略和经验教训的看法，强调了适应性的、基于社区的方法在吸引不同参与者方面的重要性。
