The Recruitment of African-Americans to Cancer Prevention and Control Studies

Abstract

Background.African-Americans have the highest overall age-adjusted cancer incidence and mortality rates of any population group in the United States. Despite this fact, this group remains underrepresented in cancer prevention and control research studies, primarily because most recruitment strategies result in limited access to African-American populations.Methods.As part of three large-scale cancer prevention and control studies, effective strategies for recruiting African-American participants were developed and implemented.Results.Eight strategies have been identified as successful recruitment strategies for involving African-Americans in cancer prevention and control studies. Utilizing these strategies resulted in recruiting a representative number of African-American participants, in relation to the local population, into the three studies.Conclusions.African-Americans can be recruited to participate in cancer control and prevention studies if plans include special strategies targeted to addressing unique barriers, beliefs, and concerns.