Project Connect: A pilot study using social networks of African American women with cardiovascular disease to recruit African American men into health studies

Background: Recruitment of African American (AA) males into health promotion programs and research is vital to the reduction of health disparities. This pilot study utilized social networks to recruit men at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) into screening. The key objective was to describe the feasibility of recruiting AA males at high risk for CVD through a female relative or friend with known CVD. Methods: One-hundred fifteen African American females, who had recently completed cardiac rehabilitation at a large urban health system, were contacted via recruitment letters and telephone calls. They were asked to bring or refer AA male friends and family members (FM) for screening and data collection. Surveys administered to female participants included an FM referral form, the Sickness Impact Profile, and the Social Network Index. FM were screened for blood pressure and body mass index (BMI), completed a demographic survey, and a relationships and family health history survey. All participants received a $25 incentive. Results: Of the 115 AA females contacted, 19 (17%) participated and referred 53 FM, of which 35 (66%) completed the study. Thirty-one percent of FM had abnormal blood pressure and 72% had BMI≥25. The mean number of referred FM was 2.8±1.2 with twenty (57%) being biologically related to a female participant. Twenty-six (74%) FM currently resided with the female participant; mean years resided together was 15.9±14.9. The mean number of people in female participants' social networks was 17.9±14.9. Females who scored 17 or below referred 2.4±0.9 FM, while those who scored above 17 referred 3.4±1.5. Conclusions: This study successfully identified and recruited high-risk subjects by utilizing women to influence men in their social network to participate. Enrollment rates of FM by using females' social networks (66%) were vastly greater than rates of females using traditional methods (17%), and suggest it is an efficient recruitment technique. Results confirmed that FM were at high risk for CVD. This recruitment method has the potential to reduce CVD occurrence by engaging high risk subjects in preventive health screenings, and may be useful for research applications. Studies comparing this approach to traditional recruitment methods are warranted.