title: Engaging veterans with substance abuse disorders into a research trial: success with study branding, networking, and presence.
abstract: Recruiting and retaining clients in health interventions can be challenging especially when targeting multiple behavior change in high-risk populations. To inform the methods of trials working with similarly complex clinical populations, we describe multi-pronged efforts to recruit and retain a representative sample. In a two-group RCT, veterans were recruited from a Veteran Affairs Medical Center. The goal was to enroll 200 participants over a 25-month period, and to exceed 70 % follow-up for all treatment arms. To meet these goals, a four-pronged strategy was developed: branding, outreach/networking, onsite presence, and incentives. In month 1, 32 % of the proposed sample size was met (n = 64), and by month 2, 45 % (n = 90); the recruitment goal (n = 200) was achieved 13 months ahead of schedule. Retention exceeds 90 % at all time points out to 18 months. The multipronged recruitment and retention plan was efficient, cost effective, and may generalize to other health promotion initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984 USA.
authors.forename: Anne Kathryn
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Michalek
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121 USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Medical School Office Building, X316, 1265 Welch Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5411 USA.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prochaska
keywords: Methods research; Multiple-risk behavior change; Recruitment; Retention; Veteran health administration