Community-Based Recruitment Strategies for Young Adult Pacific Islanders into a Randomized Community Smoking Cessation Trial

Abstract

Lung cancer represents the leading cause of cancer death for Pacific Islanders in the United States, but they remain underrepresented in studies leading to the lack of evidence-based cessation programs tailored to their culture and lifestyle.This paper aims to describe the development of culturally tailored and community informed recruitment materials, and provide lessons learned regarding implementation and adaptation of strategies to recruit Pacific Islander young adult smokers into a randomized cessation study.Development of recruitment materials involved a series of focus groups to determine the cessation program logo and recruitment video. The initial recruitment strategy relied on community-based participatory research partnerships with Pacific Islander community-based organizations, leaders and health coaches with strong ties to the community.Results/Lessons Learned: While the recruitment materials were well received, initial strategies tapered off after the first 3 months of recruitment resulting in the need to revise outreach plans. Revised plans included the creation of a list with more than 200 community locations frequented by Pacific Islander young adult smokers, along with the hiring of part-time recruitment assistants who reflected the age and ethnicities of the desired cessation study participants. These materials and strategies ultimately yielded 316 participants, 66% of whom were recruited by the revised strategies.Community-based participatory research approaches not only inform the design of culturally tailored intervention recruitment material and strategies, but also result in innovative solutions to recruitment challenges to address the National Cancer Institute's gaps in science regarding small populations.