A comprehensive approach to community recruitment for clinical and translational research

Abstract

Recruitment and engagement for clinical and translational research is challenging, especially among medically underserved and ethnic or racial minority populations. We present a comprehensive model developed through the Clinical and Translational Science Center at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Health Sciences Center that addresses 3 critical aspects of participant recruitment. The components of the model are: (1) Recruitment from within UNM to UNM-centered studies, (2) recruitment from within UNM to community-based studies, and (3) recruitment from outside UNM to UNM-centered studies. This model has increased research participant recruitment, especially among medically underserved populations, and offers generalizable translational solutions to common clinical and translational research challenges, especially in settings with similar demographic and geographic characteristics.