Where Have They Gone? Recruiting and Retaining Older Rural Research Participants.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Rural Health
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Older adults in rural settings experience health disparities.
• Research with this population is vital but faces recruitment and retention hurdles.
• A 6-month educational intervention study highlighted these significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the challenges encountered in recruiting and retaining older rural adults for a health literacy study.
• To identify effective strategies for overcoming these recruitment and retention difficulties.
• To inform future research involving similar hard-to-reach populations.

Main Methods:

• A 4-part educational intervention was designed for older rural adults.
• Recruitment involved community outreach via local media, flyers, and in-person presentations.
• Retention strategies included relationship building and consistent participant communication.

Main Results:

• Recruitment required doubling the number of participating communities to meet goals.
• Participant retention was low, with only 52 of 127 initial participants completing the study.
• Factors like illness, relocation, and weather impacted participant adherence.

Conclusions:

• Recruiting and retaining rural, older adults in longitudinal studies presents complex issues.
• Effective recruitment requires accessible programs and community-based outreach.
• Building relationships and maintaining regular contact are key retention strategies.
• Oversampling and flexibility are necessary to account for unforeseen events.