Barriers and facilitators for recruiting and retaining male participants into longitudinal health research: a systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Background Successfully recruiting male participants to complete a healthcare related study is important for healthcare study completion and to advance our clinical knowledgebase. To date, most research studies have examined the barriers and facilitators of female participants in longitudinal healthcare-related studies. Recruitment of male participants to longitudinal healthcare research studies poses a unique set of challenges. This systematic review examines the unique barriers and facilitators to male recruitment across longitudinal healthcare-related research studies. Methods Following PRIMSA guidelines, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science databases were systematically searched using the terms recruitment and/or retention, facilitators and/or barriers and longitudinal studies from 1900 to 2021 which contained separate data on males aged 17-59 years. Health studies or interventions were defined longitudinal if they were greater than or equal to 12 weeks in duration with 3 separate data collection visits. Results Eighteen articles published from 1976-2021 met the criteria. One-third of the studies had a predominantly male sample and four studies recruited only male participants. Most studies were either of high (39%) or medium quality (39%). Two key themes were identified as being particularly salient to the male population i) patient-related factors (e.g., limited understanding of study rationale as well as the needs for participation in the study) and ii)situational-based factors (e.g., difficulty accessing study sites). Conclusions Future research should focus on the specific impact of these factors across the spectrum of longitudinal health-related studies. Based on the findings of this systematic review, researchers from longitudinal health-related clinical trials are encouraged to consider male-specific recruitment strategies to ensure successful recruitment and retention in their studies. Registration This systemic review is registered with the PROSPERO database (CRD42021254696).