title: A Multipronged, Adaptive Approach for the Recruitment of Diverse Community-Residing Elders with Memory Impairment: The MIND at Home Experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide a critical review of a multipronged recruitment approach used to identify, recruit, and enroll a diverse community-based sample of persons with memory disorders into an 18-month randomized, controlled dementia care coordination trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive analysis of a recruitment approach comprised five strategies: community liaison ("gatekeepers") method, letters sent from trusted community organizations, display and distribution of study materials in the community, research registries, and general community outreach and engagement activities. Participants were 55 community organizations and 63 staff of community organizations in Baltimore, Maryland. Participant referral sources, eligibility, enrollment status, demographics, and loss to follow-up were tracked in a relational access database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1,275 referrals were received and 303 socioeconomically, cognitively, and racially diverse community-dwelling persons with cognitive disorders were enrolled. Most referrals came from letters sent from community organizations directly to clients on the study's behalf (39%) and referrals from community liaison organizations (29%). African American/black enrollees were most likely to come from community liaison organizations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A multipronged, adaptive approach led to the successful recruitment of diverse community-residing elders with memory impairment for an intervention trial. Key factors for success included using a range of evidence-supported outreach strategies, forming key strategic community partnerships, seeking regular stakeholder input through all research phases, and obtaining "buy-in" from community stakeholders by aligning study objectives with perceived unmet community needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bayview, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Electronic address: qmiles@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Quincy M
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Samus
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Halima
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amjad
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bayview, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Deirdre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bayview, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Betty S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging, Community & Family Medicine, The Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bayview, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Constantine G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Lyketsos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015142:Baltimore; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018579:Patient Selection; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012042:Registries; D012107:Research Design
keywords: Dementia; case finding; community outreach; memory disorders; recruitment