Highlights

Recruitment conducted in person with Latinos is more effective than using indirect methods.

Why this item may be useful

There are many effective methods to recruit Latinos and persons of low SES into research studies but all have challenges in terms of cost, effort, and extent of reach. Recruitment methods and results were described for five studies recruiting Mexican Americans in central Texas for community-based diabetes studies. The effectiveness of newspaper and radio ads were difficult to evaluate as participants did not always remember where they first heard of the study. Flyers yielded an overall low response rate, but were found to be helpful when handed to patients during the recruitment conversation. Personal contacts were the most successful recruitment method, particularly when trusted community partners deliver the message or when researchers or their staff were in direct contact with members of the target population. An incorrect assumption was that members of the community were accustomed to the practice of using a business card or had access to a telephone.  

Details

Key Hispanic cultural values relevant to the recruitment process are:

• Personalismo: preference for warm relationships that convey care and acceptance of the patient and her or his circumstances
• Simpatia: preference for smooth relationships that are free of criticism and confrontation as well as finding someone likeable, sharing common interests
• Confidanza: trust
• Respeto: respect in all interactions with special consideration afforded the elderly, the educated, and people in authority
• Familismo: emphasis on family, loyalty, cooperation, and interdependence