Recruitment and Retention of Latina Immigrants to a Randomized Clinical Trial: Strategies, Challenges and Lessons Learned

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of strategies aimed at increasing recruitment of individuals for research purposes is essential, particularly among recent Latino immigrants. The objective of this study is to elucidate strategies, challenges and lessons learned from the recruitment and retention of Latina immigrants in a cervical cancer prevention randomized clinical trial.

METHODS: Lay Health Educators recruited all participants and delivered weekly sessions for 8-weeks. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 8-weeks, 12- and 24-months. Monthly phone calls, quarterly newsletters, birthday and holiday cards and bi-monthly gatherings were used as retention methods. T-tests and Chi-square tests were used to determine differences between participants who were retained and not retained.

RESULTS: 559 of 726 screened Latina immigrants were eligible and enrolled in the study. Of those, 506 attended the first session. Out of women attending the first session, retention rates at 8-weeks and 1-year were 92.6% and 83.6% respectively. Women who were not retained after 12-months were most likely to have been in the U.S. less time (65.8 vs. 90.3 months, p=0.0002), have lower income ($1544 vs. $1779 monthly, p=0.0098), and less likely to be insured (96.5% vs. 91.5%, p=0.0470).

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that recruitment of Latina immigrants to a randomized clinical trial can be feasible and successful. We found that attendance to the first session yielded better retention than those who didn't. Furthermore, women who were retained were different than those who were not. Economic climate, work schedules and distrust all posed challenges to retention in this study.