Comparing two sampling methods to engage hard-to-reach communities in research priority setting.

Area of Science:

• Community-Engaged Research
• Health Disparities
• Pain Management

Background:

• Effective community-partnered research requires addressing community priorities.
• Optimal sampling methods for engaging vulnerable populations in priority setting are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare snowball sampling and purposive sampling for recruiting stakeholders in hard-to-reach communities.
• To identify research priorities for chronic pain management.

Main Methods:

• Two rural, Hispanic communities used different sampling methods (snowball vs. purposive/convenience).
• Community advisory boards guided recruitment and facilitated meetings for priority generation.
• Mixed methods analysis compared recruitment, retention, and stakeholder-identified priorities.

Main Results:

• Snowball sampling recruited more Hispanic and disabled individuals (P < 0.05).
• Recruitment and retention rates varied between methods.
• Both communities identified similar research priorities, focusing on non-pharmacologic pain interventions.

Conclusions:

• Snowball sampling demonstrated superior engagement of specific demographic groups.
• Despite different recruitment strategies, research priorities were largely consistent.
• Further research on implementation costs for snowball sampling is recommended.