Recruitment Strategies Research Articles

Recruitment Strategies for a Nonhospital-Based Academic Rare Disease Biobank in South Africa.

Introduction: Rare disease research in South Africa (SA) faces significant challenges, including limited prioritization and awareness, which hinder advancements in patient care and scientific discovery. This article explores the recruitment strategies employed by the Centre for Human Metabolomics (CHM) Biobank, a nonhospital-based academic rare disease biobank, to address these challenges. Methods: We explain the consent process and documents as well as the three recruitment models employed, namely (1) Recruitment via referring clinician, (2) implementation of monthly diagnostic follow-up sessions, and (3) recruitment of patients for specific projects through clinic-based recruitment drives. Discussion: We discuss the benefits as well as the challenges of each model. Challenges included clinician and patient time constraints, distrust from current consent practices, and limited public awareness. We elaborate on future strategies to address these gaps such as simplifying consent, expanding recruitment sites, collaborating with clinical, academic and public institutions, and raising public awareness of the role of the CHM Biobank. Conclusions: From the models employed over the past 5 years, it is evident that recruitment is most effective when patients perceive a direct benefit, such as involvement in active projects. These strategies outlined in the discussion are crucial for ensuring the CHM Biobank's sustainability, diversity, and its impact on scientific research and patient outcomes in SA.

A shortage of support: strategies for recruiting and retaining educators of color through times of increased stress and scrutiny

Purpose The purpose of this study is to draw attention to experiences of EOC and offer actionable strategies for recruitment and retention. E-12 public education has faced increased scrutiny in recent years for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts following the pandemic and murder of George Floyd. Concurrently, the educator shortage is exacerbating the underrepresentation of educators of color (EOCs) in the field, which has detrimental impacts on society at large. Design/methodology/approach In partnership with a midwestern state’s largest teaching union, the authors examined group differences in minority stress (i.e. discrimination), occupational stress and perceived organizational support between EOC and their white colleagues. Additionally, the authors studied the relationships between these types of stress and occupational support, as they contribute to EOCs’ health and well-being. Findings The authors found that EOCs experienced more minority stress (i.e. discrimination) at work than their white colleagues. These findings were exacerbated for bisexual EOCs. In addition, higher levels of organizational support were associated with fewer health conditions/symptoms for EOCs. Originality/value Using the findings from this study, the authors propose research-backed, actionable strategies for school districts to use to recruit, retain and support their EOCs. These are considered in the backdrop of increased attention and scrutiny on public school employees.

Facilitators of and barriers to blood donation among voluntary non-remunerated blood donors in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.

In many countries, including Africa, the widespread gap between national blood requirements and actual blood supplies contributes to unnecessary deaths. This scoping review explores common facilitators and barriers to blood donation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and strategies that are used to increase and maintain repeat blood donation. We conducted a scoping review of facilitators and barriers to blood donation in SSA. We searched PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE and COCHRANE to identify relevant papers. Of the 2225 articles screened by title, abstract and papers published after 2010, 37 were included in the final full-text screening. Article quality for inclusion was assessed on the basis of a predefined eligibility and inclusion checklist. We analysed all papers that reported barriers and facilitators to blood donation in Africa. The review included 11 studies. The common facilitators for blood donation reported were altruism, the opportunity for disease testing, friendly recruitment strategies and future easy access to blood at hospitals when needed. We identified the following barriers: lack of knowledge, awareness of blood donation and place of donation, fear, ineffective incentives, bad service experiences and religious and cultural beliefs. Findings of this review can be used to propose better strategies for improving blood donation in SSA. Strategies that encourage blood donation can be leveraged and implemented, while those that discourage blood donation can be adapted to better achieve an adequate supply.

Provider adoption of an online ADHD eHealth care application.

To assess what practice-, provider-, and patient population-level predictors predict adoption of an ADHD ehealth technology in community pediatric settings, pediatric providers nationwide were recruited and offered free use of an evidence-based mental-health-focused ehealth quality improvement intervention (mehealth for ADHD). Practice-, provider-, and patient population-level factors predicting provider's adoption of the intervention were studied. We hypothesized that providers who were younger, nearing re-credentialing, having more patients with ADHD, working at larger practices, serving socioeconomically deprived patient populations, and using an electronic health record (EHR) with mehealth integration would predict higher rates of adoption. A variety of recruitment strategies were attempted. Providers completed a baseline survey, were given free access to mehealth, and then had their software adoption recorded (i.e., account activation, rate of patients registered, completion of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles). Multiple regressions examined what practice-, provider-, and patient population-level variables predicted provider's adoption of the software. A total of 1,612 providers at 813 practices across 48 states and the District of Columbia consented to the study. The most common ways that providers heard about the research study was through word-of-mouth (37%), advertising (23%), and through professional affiliation (11%). 1,210 (75.1%) providers activated their mehealth provider account and 446 (36.8%) registered at least 1 patient. Over 4.5 years, 21,804 patients were registered on the platform. Being able to access mehealth within their EHR predicted provider account activation, provider rate of patients registered, and the practice's completion of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. In addition, having a lower proportion of Medicaid patients predicted higher rates of patients being registered on the software. Getting providers to consider, try, and adopt new evidence-based assistive technologies is challenging. Making ehealth software easier for providers' to access through EHR integration appears critical to adoption.

Understanding the Preferences of Aspiring Bureaucrats: Experimental Evidence from India

Effective screening and selection methods can potentially improve workforce quality. This paper investigates the effect of changing the job entrance methods on the aspirant pool for civil service jobs in India. A choice experiment was conducted among aspirants of a civil service exam randomly selected from coaching classes ( n = 221). Participants were randomly shown one of the four job advertisements varying in Entrance Method (Exam vs. No Exam) and Job Type (Specialist vs. Generalist) and asked to rate their willingness to apply for the job. The results revealed a strong preference for entrance exams. Many aspirants rejected specialist roles aligned with their educational backgrounds, favouring generalist roles instead. Risk appetite influenced preferences for entrance exams, while time preference (patience) and public service motivation had no significant effect.The findings suggested that to attract specialists, the government must revise its recruitment strategy, as the current approach appeals predominantly to generalists. Significant changes in entrance methods could reshape the applicant pool.

Coacervates as enzymatic microreactors.

Compartmentalization, a key aspect of biochemical regulation, naturally occurs in cellular organelles, including biomolecular condensates formed through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Inspired by biological compartments, synthetic coacervates have emerged as versatile microreactors, which can provide customed environments for enzymatic reactions. In this review, we explore recent advances in coacervate-based microreactors, while emphasizing the mechanisms by which coacervates accelerate enzymatic reactions, namely by enhancing substrate and enzyme concentrations, stabilizing intermediates, and providing molecular crowding. We discuss diverse coacervate systems, including those based on synthetic polymers, peptides, and nucleic acids, and describe the selection of enzymatic model systems, as well as strategies for enzyme recruitment and their impact on reaction kinetics. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges in monitoring reactions within coacervates and review the currently available techniques including fluorescence techniques, chromatography, and NMR spectroscopy. Altogether, this review offers a comprehensive perspective on recent progress and challenges in the design of coacervate microreactors, and addresses their potential in biocatalysis, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology.

Quantitatively Applying a Person-Centered Approach in Rural Health Workforce Research: An Exploratory Latent Class Analysis of Early Career Rural Nurses.

To explore the utility of a quantitative person-centred approach to identify subgroups of commencing first-year rural nurses and examine their work attitudes and intentions. Exploratory cross-sectional survey. A survey of commencing first-year nurses was conducted in two Australian rural health districts in 2019 and 2020, with a 91% response rate. A two-step latent class analysis of 159 responses was undertaken with two indicators of perceived professional opportunity and three indicators of local connection and rural training. Three outcomes assessing work intention and attitudes were compared across subtypes. Four subgroups ('classes') were identified. There were significant differences in the outcomes between the two classes interpreted as 'rural-locals'. Rural-locals with the highest perceptions of available professional opportunities had the most positive outcomes of all four classes. Of the two 'non-local' classes, the class with high perceptions of professional opportunities was significantly happier than the rural-local and non-local classes with lower perceptions; however, class differences in future rural work intentions and attitudes were mixed. The research found subtypes of rural first-year nurses which differed in terms of occupational happiness and future rural work attitudes. Early career nurses who were rural-locals with highest perceptions of professional opportunities had the highest intention to remain working rurally. This exploratory research demonstrates the relevance of person-centred and theory-informed approaches to rural health workforce recruitment and retention strategies. The findings show that 'rural background' or 'local' are useful but insufficient classifiers to distinguish among commencing rural nurse health workforce, given rural work attitudes and future work intentions. Further attention at organisational and policy levels should be given to rural professional development opportunities for early career nurses to support retention. This research has demonstrated how a quantitative person-centred approach can illuminate heterogeneous subgroups within a rural health workforce to inform more targeted recruitment and retention strategies. Researchers should look to larger datasets and methodological resources from psychological theories of work to realise this potential for informing organisational and governmental policy approaches. The authors have adhered to the EQUATOR STROBE statement guidelines for reporting observational (cross-sectional) studies. No patient or public contribution.

Ensuring Representation: A Scoping Review of Interventions to Increase Minority Participation in Cancer-Related Research.

Minority representation in cancer-related clinical trials (CCTs) is often inadequate. This poses a threat to the generalizability of studies and risks promoting health inequities. This scoping review set out to examine strategies to promote minority participation in CCTs and across the entire continuity of cancer-related care. We reviewed articles in the following databases: EMBASE, Scopus, and PubMed. For inclusion, studies were required to focus, to a significant extent, on interventions to increase minority enrollment/retention. They were also required to objectively report the strength of these interventions, and either compare them with a control, or with a different intervention attempted. After initially identifying 817 articles, we reviewed 337 articles in their entirety, and found 37 that satisfied our full list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Five general categories of interventions emerged in these studies. These included educational interventions (n = 17), patient navigation (n = 12), community engagement (n = 8), autonomous recruitment strategies (n = 4), and financial assistance/incentives (n = 4). We then examined rates of statistical significance (for studies that assessed this). Seven of 10 articles that used education intervention strategies and assessed statistical significance demonstrated improvement in at least one variable. For patient navigation, 5/5 showed significance. For community engagement, 1/1 found a significant difference. For studies using an autonomous recruitment strategy, 2/2 showed an improvement. Finally, for financial assistance/incentives, 1/3 found a significant improvement in minority enrollment. Our study highlights the critical role of tailored educational interventions and patient navigation in increasing minority participation in cancer-related clinical trials. However, all five categories of interventions showed promise. More research is needed, particularly in assessing the efficacy of multipronged approaches, to ensure adequate minority participation in CCTs.

Leveraging Technology and Theory to Change Health Behaviors, Close Gaps in Health-Related Social Needs, and Increase Enrollment in the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Although progress has been made in scaling up the National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Change Program (National DPP LCP), innovative engagement strategies are needed. This implementation evaluation leveraged and combined technology, behavior change theory, and community-based participatory design approaches to develop, deploy, and evaluate a 6-month, bilingual, tailored text message-delivered program (bRIght communities) to increase 1) readiness to engage in key behaviors for diabetes prevention, 2) engagement in services that address health-related social needs to reduce barriers to participation, and 3) readiness to enroll in the National DPP LCP. We implemented a statewide, multichannel recruitment strategy from May through October 2022 and recruited 432 community members (62.3% White, 26.0% Hispanic, 6.2% Black) who received up to 6 months of tailored text messages. Six months postenrollment, 273 participants completed an online follow-up survey. Among those who did not complete the survey, responses from the last texting session were used for pre/post comparisons. Matched pre/post analyses (using t tests and McNemar tests) indicated that bRIght communities had a significant impact on daily consumption of fruits and vegetables (d = 0.43); weekly physical activity minutes (d = 0.48); resilience (d = 0.26); food insecurity (P < .001); transportation concerns (P < .001); and perceptions of feeling unsafe exercising in one's neighborhood (P < .001). Nearly 68% of participants with or at risk for prediabetes were in the precontemplation stage for enrolling in the National DPP. Overall, 30.3% of participants in bRIght communities moved forward at least 1 stage of change. Interactive, theoretically driven tailored text messaging represents a promising approach to increasing awareness of prediabetes risk, readiness to enroll in the National DPP LCP, participant engagement, and health behavior change. Providing links to existing geographically matched community resources reduced health-related social needs that can present barriers to participating in the National DPP LCP. The results also provide insights to inform the design and development of other population-based tailored text-delivered interventions.

A Study on the Factors Influencing Students' Choice to Pursue Undergraduate Courses at Hebei Academy of Fine Arts through the Gaokao System: A Case of the 2024 Academic Year

This study investigates the key factors influencing students' decisions to pursue undergraduate programs at Hebei Academy of Fine Arts through the Gaokao system in the 2024 academic year. Using a sample of 378 students, the research examines the influence of various factors, including the attractiveness of academic programs, faculty quality, campus culture and environment, tuition and financial support, and the university's reputation and social prestige, on students' enrollment decisions across different admission rounds. The findings highlight that the campus's cultural atmosphere and the quality of faculty at Hebei Academy of Fine Arts are pivotal in shaping students' choices. These insights provide valuable recommendations for improving recruitment strategies and optimizing educational offerings to enhance the institution’s competitiveness in the higher education sector.

Identifying and exploring patient engagement interventions for people diagnosed with lung cancer: A rapid systematic review.

Identifying and exploring patient engagement interventions for people diagnosed with lung cancer: A rapid systematic review.

Promotion Strategy for Higher Education Business Based on Customer Path 5A and Product Performance using Instagram Content Types

The competition for recruiting students in higher education institutions is intensifying, particularly in West Java, due to the large amount of higher education institutions in the region. The capacity of state higher education institutions (SHEIs) in this area remains limited, offering only 19,943 seats in 2023, which is insufficient to meet the high demand from prospective students. This situation creates opportunities to develop higher education institution businesses through effective recruitment strategies. According to We Are Social (2024), social media usage continues to rise, with Instagram being the most popular platform, making it an effective medium for higher education institution promotion. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of Instagram content types and themes in supporting higher education institution promotion. The research objects are divided into five models: (1) Model I (organic hard selling); (2) Model II (organic soft selling with educational comic themes); (3) Model III (organic soft selling with quiz themes); (4) Model IV (organic soft selling with achievement information themes); and (5) Model V (paid hard selling). The research employs an exploratory quantitative method using 5A analysis and Product Performance analysis. Data were collected from Instagram activities during the marketing campaign from January 2024 to September 2024, student admission data, and interviews conducted at XYZ Private University in Bandung. The results indicate that Model II, Model IV, and Model V are effective in supporting higher education institution promotion.

Screening to identify people with type 2 diabetes at risk of liver cancer in primary care: a randomised controlled trial protocol

IntroductionHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is expected to become the third most common cause of cancer death worldwide by 2030. The increase in HCC is in large part due to the rising...

Engaging blood donors as advocates: Social media preferences and associations with marketing stimuli.

Various critical medical procedures would become impossible without blood donations-saving lives in emergencies, surgeries, and chronic conditions like thalassemia. Therefore, it seems crucial to enhance donor recruitment and ensure blood supply. For this, we rate donor motivations and explore associations between donors' engagement with marketing stimuli and willingness to participate in donor recruitment. To help design tailored marketing strategies, this study examines age-specific social media preferences for promoting blood donation. To reach these objectives, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 907 donors at Israeli blood-donation centers. Data on donation motivations, social media preferences, and willingness to recruit others were collected through a structured questionnaire. The leading motivators for blood donation were solidarity and marketing stimuli. The results also revealed a significant association between donors' engagement with marketing stimuli and willingness to encourage others to donate blood. The channel preferred by donors of all age groups for promoting blood donation content was WhatsApp. The choice of other social media varied significantly by age. While younger donors (18-30) favored Instagram, other donor age groups (31-50; 51+) preferred Facebook. Based on average values, the most popular social media for promoting blood donation content were WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. Insights from this research can support blood collection agencies in refining marketing strategies for donor recruitment. For maximizing the reach of recruitment efforts, it seems essential to use various social media based on donors' age groups.

Hip posture affects the firing properties of motor units in the tibialis anterior muscle.

In this study we contend the firing properties of motor units change due to non-physiological sources. We specifically ask whether changes in the fibular nerve length, without a concurrent change in tibialis anterior architecture, affect motor unit firing and recruitment strategies. We tested this hypothesis based on high-density surface electromyograms (EMGs) collected from the tibialis anterior of eighteen healthy young adults for two hip postures, flexed and extended. To control for changes in peripheral nerve length, conduction time between electrical stimulation and generation of compound action potentials in extensor digitorum brevis was measured for the two hip postures during rest. Motor units were decomposed from EMGs obtained during sustained isometric dorsiflexions at 10% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), and during ramp isometric contractions up to 20% MVC. Individual motor unit firings were identified and tracked between the two postures. Nerve conduction time was significantly shorter in hip flexed than in hip extended posture (p<0.01), suggesting that peripheral nerve was stretched in the flexed hip posture. MVC torque was not different between flexed and extended postures (p=0.254). Motor unit firing rates during sustained contraction at 10% of MVC, and during ramp-up contraction to 20% of MVC were significantly lower during flexed hip posture than during extended hip posture (p<0.05). Hip flexion posture, which likely result in a stretching of the fibular nerve, was observed to reduce the average firing rate of active motor units during relatively low contractions.

A feasibility study of the internet-based intervention “Strategies for Empowering activities in Everyday life” (SEE 1.0) applied for people with stroke

BackgroundTo enable people with stroke to achieve an active everyday life under altered conditions, the development of self-management programs is essential to facilitate the process of change that individuals must undergo. To improve access to self-management, internet-based solutions have been proposed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a novel internet-based intervention, “Strategies for Empowering activities in Everyday Life” (SEE, version 1.0), for clients with stroke.MethodsThis feasibility study had a preposttest design without a control group and utilized a mixed-method approach. Data were collected through study-specific forms, outcome assessments, interviews, and field notes. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were subsequently applied.ResultsThe study involved fifteen clients and staff at clinics in a hospital-based open-care rehabilitation setting. The results indicate that SEE is feasible for clients with stroke. When adopted as expected, SEE has the potential to empower self-management and enhance engagement, balance, and values in everyday activities. The study also indicates that SEE is feasible in terms of adherent delivery of dosage, acceptability, and value, as perceived by clients, occupational therapists, and clinic managers. However, adjustments are needed in the study design, in terms of recruitment strategies, the selection of assessor-based outcome assessment, and the evaluation of adherence. Additionally, the educational program for professionals should be enhanced to better support the implementation of SEE.ConclusionAfter the study design, intervention, and educational program are refined, SEE can be prepared for a pilot randomized controlled trial.Trial registrationclinicaltrails.gov NCT04588116, date of registration: 8th October 2020.

Unveiling the Shadows: The Tactics of Social Media Platforms on Human Trafficking in Mbeya, Tanzania

This paper aims to explore the tactics that the traffickers use on the media platforms in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. The analysis involved 35 respondents, including victims, community leaders and law enforcers. The study used the descriptive research design whereby questionnaires were developed and used in data collection. The results indicated that the most often used social media platforms were Facebook (40%) and WhatsApp (30%), while Instagram ranked third with 20% and the last was Telegram (10%). The majority of the affected respondents were young women ages 18-24 years making up 50% of the participants. This article identified emotional manipulation, social proof, and fake job offers as the most common recruitment strategies. The outcomes reveal the critical need for strategic approaches and community awareness in combating the enabled trafficking by the use of social media.

Assessing Health Information Seeking Behaviors Among Targeted Social Media Users Using an Infotainment Video About a Cancer Clinical Trial: Population-Based Descriptive Study.

The lack of information and awareness about clinical trials, as well as misconceptions about them, are major barriers to cancer clinical trial participation. Digital and social media are dominant sources of health information and offer optimal opportunities to improve public medical awareness and education by providing accurate and trustworthy health information from reliable sources. Infotainment, material intended to both entertain and inform, is an effective strategy for engaging and educating audiences that can be easily disseminated using social media and may be a novel way to improve awareness of and recruitment in clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an infotainment video promoting a clinical trial, disseminated using social media, could drive health information seeking behaviors. As part of a video series, we created an infotainment video focused on the promotion of a specific cancer clinical trial. We instituted a dissemination and marketing process on Facebook to measure video engagement and health information seeking behaviors among targeted audiences who expressed interest in breast cancer research and organizations. To evaluate video engagement, we measured reach, retention, outbound clicks, and outbound click-through rate. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were used to summarize each measure. The video substantially increased health information seeking behavior by increasing viewership from 1 visitor one month prior to launch to 414 outbound clicks from the video to the clinical trial web page during the 21-day social media campaign period. Our study shows that digital and social media tools can be tailored for specific target audiences, are scalable, and can be disseminated at low cost, making it an accessible educational, recruitment, and retention strategy focused on improving the awareness of clinical trials.

Lessons Learned From 2 Research Studies Enrolling Underrepresented Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices and Their Family Caregivers.

Given the continued challenges of and barriers to recruiting and retaining underrepresented groups in cardiovascular studies, this study aimed to describe successful recruitment strategies used by 2 related ventricular assist device (VAD) studies. The 2 exemplar studies focused on understanding how adults with a VAD and their family caregivers discuss, reflect upon and act on their personal values. To recruit a more representative and diverse sample reflective of the substantial Black population receiving care at the local academic hospital outpatient clinic, we developed multipronged recruitment strategies for a convergent mixed-methods study (Study 1) and a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study (Study 2). Two underlying principles guided recruitment strategies: (1) clinician-scientist collaboration, and (2) personalized participant interactions. This article reflects on lessons learned by an early career investigator and her mentors from 2 studies, which will support ongoing inclusive recruitment in future projects.

Protocol for a national randomized controlled trial evaluating the Opioid Rapid Response System for overdose death prevention.

Protocol for a national randomized controlled trial evaluating the Opioid Rapid Response System for overdose death prevention.