The dementia care study (D‐CARE): Recruitment strategies and demographic characteristics of participants in a pragmatic randomized trial of dementia care

Abstract

AbstractINTRODUCTIONPragmatic research studies that include diverse dyads of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their family caregivers are rare.METHODSCommunity‐dwelling dyads were recruited for a pragmatic clinical trial evaluating three approaches to dementia care. Four clinical trial sites used shared and site‐specific recruitment strategies to enroll health system patients.RESULTSElectronic health record (EHR) queries of patients with a diagnosis of dementia and engagement of their clinicians were the main recruitment strategies. A total of 2176 dyads were enrolled, with 80% recruited after the onset of the pandemic. PLWD had a mean age of 80.6 years (SD 8.5), 58.4% were women, and 8.8% were Hispanic/Latino, and 11.9% were Black/African American. Caregivers were mostly children of the PLWD (46.5%) or spouses/partners (45.2%), 75.8% were women, 9.4% were Hispanic/Latino, and 11.6% were Black/African American.DISCUSSIONHealth systems can successfully enroll diverse dyads in a pragmatic clinical trial.