Breast cancer survivorship in a multiethnic sample: challenges in recruitment and measurement

The inclusion of ethnic minorities in cancer-related studies continues to be an important concern for researchers. In this article, the authors present 1) a brief discussion of recruitment and measurement challenges in conducting multiethnic survivorship research, and 2) recruitment outcomes and sample characteristics for a health-related quality-of-life study with a multiethnic sample of breast cancer survivors (BCS).

A case-control, cross-sectional design with mixed sampling methods was used. The Contextual Model for Recruitment and Enrollment of Diverse Samples was used to guide the protocol. BCS were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program, from hospital registries, and from community agencies. Participation rates, demographic factors, and medical factors were compared. The reliability of standard measures by ethnicity was assessed.

Seven hundred three women participated, including 135 African-American women (19%), 206 Asian-American women (29%), 183 Latino-American women (26%), and 179 European-American women (26%). Participation was influenced by ethnicity, age, and site of recruitment. Overall, African Americans were least likely to participate, and European Americans most likely to participate. African Americans and Asian Americans were more likely to refuse, European Americans and Latino Americans were more likely to agree to participate, and European Americans and Asian Americans were most likely to complete the survey after consenting. Measures possessed moderate to excellent reliability (0.64-0.91).

Despite important recruitment and measurement challenges, this study obtained acceptable participation rates and good internal consistency of the measures. The results demonstrate the utility of a culturally responsive approach to health disparities research.