The Houston HeartReach Registry: Recruitment Methods and Current Registry Demographics.

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Public Health Research
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Houston, Texas, exhibits significant ethnic diversity alongside prevalent low socioeconomic status and healthcare access challenges.
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence varies across ethnic groups in Houston.
• Understanding CVD risk in diverse ethnic and sexual minority populations is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess recruitment methods and demographic composition of the Houston HeartReach Registry.
• To analyze participant demographics including ethnicity, socioeconomic status, healthcare access, and sexual orientation.
• To evaluate the number of women recruited by location, year, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, healthcare status, and sexual orientation.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive statistical analysis of self-reported demographics for participants in the Houston HeartReach Registry.
• Examination of recruitment locations and strategies.
• Interim analysis focused on the number of women recruited by various demographic factors.

Main Results:

• 1,476 women enrolled; 67.48% are Hispanic, 15.79% non-Hispanic White, 12.87% Black.
• 23.85% reported annual income $10,000-$24,000; 25.41% had private health insurance.
• Recruitment primarily occurred at BakerRipley events (73.31%), with most participants being Hispanic.

Conclusions:

• The registry currently overrepresents Hispanic women, indicating an underrepresentation of other ethnic groups.
• Enrollment of sexual minority individuals and diverse socioeconomic/healthcare groups is proportionally aligned with overall recruitment.
• Culturally tailored and demographic-specific recruitment strategies are essential for comprehensive participant inclusion.