title: Recruiting Community-Based Dementia Patients and Caregivers in a Nonpharmacologic Randomized Trial: What Works and How Much Does It Cost?
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield and cost of three recruitment strategies-direct mail, newspaper advertisements, and community outreach-for identifying and enrolling dementia caregivers into a randomized trial testing a nonpharmacologic approach to enhancing quality of life of patients and caregivers (dyads).
  
  
  
  Enrollment occurred between 2006 and 2008. The number of recruitment inquiries, number and race of enrollees, and costs for each recruitment strategy were recorded.
  
  
  
  Of 284 inquiries, 237 (83%) dyads enrolled. Total cost for recruitment across methodologies was US$154 per dyad. Direct mailings resulted in the most enrollees (n = 135, 57%) and was the least costly method (US$63 per dyad) compared with newspaper ads (US$224 per dyad) and community outreach (US$350 per dyad). Although enrollees were predominately White, mailings yielded the highest number of non-Whites (n = 37).
  
  
  
  Direct mailings was the most effective and least costly method for enrolling dyads in a nonpharmacologic dementia trial.
authors.affiliation: Bayada Home Health Care, Philadelphia, PA, USA morrisonkk49@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
authors.forename: Laraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Center for Innovative Care in Aging.
authors.forename: Laura N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Gitlin
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000191:economics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000191:economics; D003704:Dementia; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000191:economics; D018579:Patient Selection; D011177:Postal Service / Q000191:economics; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*
keywords: caregiving; clinical trials; dementia care; home care