title: Recruitment of low income, predominantly minority cancer survivors to a randomized trial of the I Can Cope cancer education program.
abstract: This report describes recruitment of minority cancer survivors for a randomized trial of I Can Cope, a support program of the American Cancer Society. Survivor Education and Evaluation (SURE), was designed to recruit patients, age 19 and older, with a primary cancer diagnosis. Recruitment was primarily carried out in a public hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Of 373 patients approached, 226 were eligible for the study, 175 consented, and 140 were randomized during the 20-month recruitment period. Only 43 declined participation. This resulted in a 61.9% recruitment yield. The mean age of participants was 54.2 years (SD=10.9), 92 (65.7%) were female, and 111 (79.3%) were African American. Twenty-three different cancers were represented including breast (37.1%), colorectal (12.1%), hematologic (12.9%), and lung (7.1%). Over half (63%) had been diagnosed within 12 months. The experience of the SURE project provides evidence for optimism in recruiting racial minorities to cancer research studies.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, University of Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dignan
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Polly
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kratt
authors.forename: Lori A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pisu
authors.forename: Judith Lee
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prayor-Patterson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Sandral
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hullett
authors.forename: Michelle Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education; D000368:Aged; D000407:Alabama; D000570:American Cancer Society; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D018579:Patient Selection; D011203:Poverty; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States