Abstract
BackgroundDespite high morbidity and mortality among people who use drugs (PWUD) in rural America, most research is conducted within urban areas. Our objective was to describe influencing factors, motivations, and barriers to research participation and retention among rural PWUD.MethodsWe recruited 255 eligible participants from community outreach and community-based, epidemiologic research cohorts from April to July 2019 to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Eligible participants reported opioid or injection drug use to get high within 30 days and resided in high-needs rural counties in Oregon, Kentucky, and Ohio. We aggregated response rankings to identify salient influences, motivations, and barriers. We estimated prevalence ratios to assess for gender, preferred drug use, and geographic differences using log-binomial models.ResultsMost participants were male (55%) and preferred methamphetamine (36%) over heroin (35%). Participants reported confidentiality, amount of financial compensation, and time required as primary influential factors for research participation. Primary motivations for participation include financial compensation, free HIV/HCV testing, and contribution to research. Changed or false participant contact information and transportation are principal barriers to retention. Respondents who prefer methamphetamines over heroin reported being influenced by the purpose and use of their information (PR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.26). Females and Oregonians (versus Appalachians) reported knowing and wanting to help the research team as participation motivation (PR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.26 and PR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.51, 2.99).ConclusionsBeyond financial compensation, researchers should emphasize confidentiality, offer testing and linkage with care, use several contact methods, aid transportation, and accommodate demographic differences to improve research participation and retention among rural PWUD.
Highlights
The rural United States (U.S.) is in the midst of an ongoing substance use disorder epidemic
One Ohio participant was excluded from the analyses due to missing age and could not be confirmed to meet study eligibility
Compared to those who selected heroin (n = 90) as their preferred drug of choice, respondents who selected methamphetamine (n = 91) were more influenced by the privacy of the research office
Summary
The rural United States (U.S.) is in the midst of an ongoing substance use disorder epidemic. PWUD in rural communities may benefit from participation in research through otherwise unavailable access to SUD knowledge, specialists, and medical facilities, the receipt of new and effective treatments and medical care, and supported linkage to community SUD resources and programs [18, 19]. Research studies such as clinical trials may provide valuable care and treatment to rural PWUD, retention and recruitment remains challenging [15, 20, 21]. Our objective was to describe influencing factors, motivations, and barriers to research participation and retention among rural PWUD
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
