Evaluation of Conceptual Framework for Recruitment of African American Patients With Breast Cancer

• Published in: Oncology nursing forum Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. E160 - E167
• Main Authors: Heiney, Sue P., Adams, Swann Arp, Wells, Linda M., Johnson, Hiluv
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oncology Nursing Society 01.05.2010
• Subjects: African Americans; Audiovisual Aids; Black or African American - education; Black or African American - ethnology; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - ethnology; Care and treatment; Clinical trials; Cultural Competency; Diagnosis; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Management; Models, Nursing; Models, Psychological; Nursing Evaluation Research; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - ethnology; Patient Selection; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Researcher-Subject Relations - psychology; Risk factors; Self-Help Groups; Social Marketing; Telecommunications; Trust; Women - education; Women - psychology; United States
• ISSN: 0190-535X; 1538-0688; 1538-0688
• DOI: 10.1188/10.ONF.E160-E167

To describe the Heiney-Adams Recruitment Framework (H-ARF); to delineate a recruitment plan for a randomized, behavioral trial (RBT) based on H-ARF; and to provide evaluation data on its implementation. All data for this investigation originated from a recruitment database created for an RBT designed to test the effectiveness of a therapeutic group convened via teleconference for African American women with breast cancer. Major H-ARF concepts include social marketing and relationship building. The majority of social marketing strategies yielded 100% participant recruitment. Greater absolute numbers were recruited via Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act waivers. Using H-ARF yielded a high recruitment rate (66%). Application of H-ARF led to successful recruitment in an RBT. The findings highlight three areas that researchers should consider when devising recruitment plans: absolute numbers versus recruitment rate, cost, and efficiency with institutional review board-approved access to protected health information. H-ARF may be applied to any clinical or population-based research setting because it provides direction for researchers to develop a recruitment plan based on the target audience and cultural attributes that may hinder or help recruitment.