Outcomes of dyadic recruitment in the Promoting Re-engagement in Meaningful Activity (PRIMA) trial

Recruitment plays a critical role in the success of a clinical trial, but recruiting older persons with cognitive impairment (PwCI)-caregiver (CG) dyads for behavioral intervention studies during the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges. We explore recruitment strategies and sources for an evidence- and telephone-based, tailored activity engagement, and skill-building randomized control trial involving older PwCI-CG dyads.

Multiple recruitment sources and strategies were used, including direct/in-clinic referrals, healthcare system databases, and advertisements through established internal and external connections, and research partnerships.

A total of 210 PwCI-CG dyads were enrolled into the study. The most successful recruitment sources for making initial contact, reaching, screening, and enrolling eligible dyads were a healthcare system database and a volunteer participant registry (46% and 37%, respectively).

Future studies should consider utilizing healthcare system databases and state-volunteer participant registries when conducting dyadic recruitment, as these sources greatly improved initial outreach and enrollment rates.

gov ID NCT04515875.