Recruiting Latinas for a cancer screening intervention in an emerging community: Lessons learned

Purpose: Recruitment of minority, low-income and low English proficiency participants to cancer screening interventions is challenging. Here we describe our experiences in recruiting a community-based sample of 106 Latino women to test a group clinic visit to screening for human papilloma virus (HPV). Methods: We trained lay women from the community as “outreach liaisons” (OLs) to recruit 21-70 year old participants into the project. The training included research integrity and ethics as well as cancer screening and project information. Outreach liaisons approached potential participants at various community sites. Results: Eleven OLs approached 177 potential participants; 106 (60%) consented to the study and completed a baseline interview. Each OL successfully recruited up to 31 participants. OLs' educational level was unrelated to recruitment success. OLs working in community organizations or who were volunteering in the community were the most successful recruiters. Consented women were of various Latino origins (Mexican: 40%; South American: 29%; Puerto Rican: 16%); 61% had completed high school; 16% had no Papanicolaou in the past 5 years. Non-consenting women preferred to go the screening alone or expressed mistrust of research. For consented women, the main barrier to attending a visit was scheduling the group appointment and remembering to show up. At 34 group visits, a total of 72 women (68% of consented women) underwent Papanicoloau screening.

Conclusions: The use of lay recruiters who are part of the target population is an effective way to enroll Latinas in HPV screening research. Group visits generated high screening rates.