title: The Experience of Direct Outreach Recruitment in the National Children's Study.
abstract: Few studies have reported the outcome of direct outreach methods for recruitment of research participants in population-based samples. We describe the relationship of outreach strategies that are tailored to specific community factors to recruitment and consent outcomes in 10 National Children's Study direct outreach study locations (all were single counties).
  
  
  
  Each study center collected data from a target population of women who resided in selected county segments that were sampled based on a geographic area probability sampling design. Based on county characteristics of the 10 study locations, each study center used site-specific marketing approaches (direct mail, mass media, provider referrals, social networking) to recruit study participants. Recruitment success was measured by the number of recruited women as well as by a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness of various recruitment methods.
  
  
  
  The number of women who consented varied from 67 to 792. The majority of women were pregnant at the time of consent. Community awareness varied from <1% to 70%. Although no significant associations were found between community characteristics and recruitment success, we found that certain types of outreach strategies enhanced recruitment.
  
  
  
  In a small sample of 10 US counties, recruitment success was not associated with community characteristics. It was, however, associated with certain types of outreach strategies that may be more effective in close-knit communities.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado; jill.kaar@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Jill L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kaar
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Markovic
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois;
authors.forename: Laura B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Amsden
authors.affiliation: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah;
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gilliland
authors.affiliation: Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana;
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Shorter
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
authors.forename: Bonika
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Nachreiner
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland;
authors.forename: Mischka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garel
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, California;
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.affiliation: Battelle Institute, Atlanta, Georgia; and.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skarpness
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drews-Botsch
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Carol J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hogue
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado;
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dabelea
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000379:methods; D054582:National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) / Q000639:trends; D018579:Patient Selection; D011177:Postal Service / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult