Using Culturally Informed Strategies to Enhance Recruitment of African Americans in Dementia Research: A Nurse Researcher's Experience

Journal of research practice

Fayron Recha Epps¹  Lisa Skemp²  Janet Specht³ 

[1] Iberia Rehabilitation Hospital;Loyola University Chicago;University of Iowa

关键词: minority recruitment;    dementia;    African American;    family caregiver;    culturally informed recruitment strategy;   

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Journal of research practice

【 摘 要 】

Decreased research participation hinders advancement in the understanding and treatment of dementia in African Americans. This article describes the experience of a nurse researcher using culturally informed strategies to enhance recruitment in the African American population in southern Louisiana, as part of a study on family involvement in health promotion activities for older adults with dementia. Strategies went beyond having minority recruiters and recruiting from churches to becoming familiar with the context and culture of southern Louisiana through engagement with the community and attaining buy-in from formal and informal contacts. The researcher kept field notes, journals, and a record of recruitment activities to assure accountability during recruitment. An analysis of the field notes revealed the salience of six themes, namely Gaining Trust, Visibility, Networking, Follow-up, Purposeful Activity, and Community Engagement. Barriers that were overcome included knowledge deficit about dementia in the target community and the cultural unsuitability of the terminology linked to dementia. Benefits included community awareness and development of community and family partnerships, and of course, the recruitment of adequate number of research participants.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND