Using administrative healthcare data to recruit study subjects: experience with 'camouflaged sampling'

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Clinical Trial Recruitment
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Recruiting diverse asthma patient populations for research is challenging.
• Existing methods may not adequately capture patient heterogeneity or protect privacy.
• Short-acting beta-agonist (SA beta-agonist) use is a key indicator in asthma management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To recruit a heterogeneous sample of asthma patients based on SA beta-agonist use.
• To compare 'camouflaged sampling' with traditional media advertising for recruitment.
• To ensure patient privacy during the recruitment process.

Main Methods:

• Employed direct and indirect patient contact via camouflaged sampling for stratified random sampling of asthmatics.
• Recruited volunteers through media advertising for comparative analysis.
• Assessed recruitment rates and compared participant characteristics (SA beta-agonist use, demographics, socioeconomic factors, pulmonary function) between methods.

Main Results:

• Camouflaged sampling recruited 109 participants; media advertising recruited 93.
• Recruitment rates were 5% for direct and 9% for indirect patient contact.
• Camouflaged sampling yielded a more heterogeneous sample regarding SA beta-agonist use, older participants, smokers, and those with lower socioeconomic status (SES).

Conclusions:

• Camouflaged sampling successfully recruited a more diverse asthma patient sample, enhancing research generalizability.
• Despite lower recruitment rates, this method effectively achieved stratified sampling and protected patient privacy.
• The findings support camouflaged sampling as a valuable tool for recruiting specific patient populations in asthma research.