Recruiting and enrolling pregnant adolescents for research.
Difficulty obtaining a sample is not justification for failure to study a hard-to-enroll population, particularly a vulnerable population such as pregnant adolescents. Recruitment of a representative, adequate sample of pregnant adolescents for a recent instrument development study provided multiple challenges. Although carefully developed, the sampling plan required several modifications to achieve the sample (n=145). Those challenges and the ensuing modifications to the sampling plan are discussed in relation to (a) access/institutional concerns, (b) the human subject's protection considerations, and (c) developmental/personal concerns of the pregnant adolescents. Recommendations for sampling strategies for future research are offered.
Medical Center College of Nursing, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-5330, USA. mkaiser@unmc.edu
Margaret M
MM
Kaiser
Bevely J
BJ
Hays
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D005260:Female; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D033242:Minors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D009329:Nebraska; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018579:Patient Selection / Q000941:ethics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology