Facebook Advertising to Recruit Women into an HIV Prevention Clinical Trial 

• Recruitment of women, members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups, and individuals across the lifespan is a vital part of NIH clinical trials. To facilitate recruitment, social media has become a versatile platform for posting targeted advertisements. These tools can be used by researchers to recruit specific clinical trial subjects via targeted advertisements. Researchers from Northeastern University employed Facebook and Instagram advertisements to recruit participants from communities with high HIV rates in an HIV prevention clinical trial. Read the case study

Cervical Cancer Prevention 

• The Arizona Cervical Cancer Prevention Unit, led by principal investigator Francisco Garcia, M.D., M.P.H., conducted a series of clinical trials focusing on cervical cancer. The series included trials on drugs, molecular marker discovery, community intervention, and technology assessment. The Unit built long-term partnerships with trusted community entities in southern Arizona to overcome barriers such as limited education and economic challenges to increase the number of women in the clinical trials.  Read the case study

Treatments for Menopause Symptoms

• Menopause Strategies, Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health (MsFLASH), led by principal investigator Andrea LaCroix, Ph.D., brought together a network of women’s health investigators from across the country to conduct randomized controlled trials quickly to test new interventions for the relief of menopause symptoms. MsFLASH used mailings and screening phone calls to recruit and screen women from age 40 to 62 for different trials, including medication, exercise, and hormone therapy trials. Investigators modified their methodology to improve recruitment and retention, centralize processes, and recruit more qualified participants.   Read the case study

Caries Prevention in Young Children

• Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health (CAN DO), led by Stuart Gansky, Dr.P.H., M.S., is a multi-project research center that conducted a series of randomized control trials to test methods for preventing tooth decay, or caries, in preschool-aged children. Trials involved parents, particularly mothers, and participants were mainly from Latino or Chinese backgrounds. CAN DO utilized community outreach, local partnerships, and culturally relevant approaches to successfully recruit and retain study participants. Read the case study
• CenteringPregnancy® Oral Health Promotion (CPOP) Pilot Study, led by principal investigators Sally Adams, Ph.D., R.N., and Lisa Chung, D.D.S., M.P.H., tested an intervention to improve oral health of pregnant women. CPOP researchers recruited pregnant women from the CenteringPregnancy® prenatal care program. Researchers incentivized recruitment and retention by addressing the time concerns and family responsibilities of participants.     Read the case study

Diabetes Prevention

• Project HEED (Help Educate to Eliminate Diseases) was a diabetes prevention pilot project using a community-based, participatory research model led by principal investigator Carol Horowitz, M.D., M.P.H. Project HEED targeted women in East Harlem with a body mass index above 25 who did not think they had diabetes or prediabetes. Most participants were members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups. Researchers worked closely with a community group to develop trust and better understand the community, and utilized those connections and culturally relevant strategies to recruit qualified participants. Read the case study