Table 1.
Strategies for recruitment and retention
| Strategies | Familiarity | Availability/Accessibility |
|---|---|---|
| Revision of Recruitment Materials/Procedures | ||
| Brochure pictured young AA women; lacked jargon; invitational, relevant | X | X |
| Personal contact: recruiter photos & biosketch in newsletter | X | X |
| AA recruiters used for AA recruitment | X | X |
| Study Methods Designed to be Responsive to Needs of Younger AA women | ||
| Eligibility criteria: Time since treatment completion expanded from 1 to 4 years, rather than 2–4 years | X | |
| Timeline for participation decreased from 10 to 8 months. | X | |
| Recruitment focused only on AA women starting 7-08 | X | |
| Developed and sent to all participants a Community Resource Guide: County HCP resources for uninsured and under insured with guidelines for eligibility | X | |
| Waiting list for women if wanted to delay study entry | X | |
| NC Breast Cancer Resource Guide given to participants | X | |
| Fitting Intervention to Participants’ Lives | ||
| Intervention materials, data collection strategies and scheduled phone calls convenient for participants | X | |
| Prepaid cell phones made available if participants had no phone (Used supplemental funding) | X | |
| Community Groups and Organizations/Community Partnerships | ||
| Contacted Breast Cancer support groups, especially those for African Americans and younger women: Save Our Sisters, Sisters’ Network | X | X |
| Presentations about the study at workshops; block walks to disseminate information | X | X |
| Community Partner: Project Connect | X | X |
| Attended meetings; recruitment training for lay health advisors; newsletter information. Obtained supplemental funding for meals during training and gas cards for travel | ||
| Community Partner: Crossworks | X | X |
| Meeting presentations; trainings for community health advocates related to study information for dissemination; Supplemental funding obtained for meals during training and gas cards for travel | ||
| Working with African American United Methodist Churches | ||
| Black Methodists for Church Renewal-letters sent to Eastern United Methodist Bishops requesting study information be sent to local pastors | X | X |
| Church supported cancer support groups; study information put in church bulletins | X | X |
| General Advertising of Study | ||
| Public service announcements—AA radio stations and AA newspapers | X | |
| Brochures sent to nail salons | X | |
| Posters, booths, gifts at AA church health fairs, community events, e.g., health fairs, street festivals, block walks, church events | X | |
| Local minor league baseball game: booth, banner, softballs, study information | X | |
| Mass e-mails to faculty and staff at universities in the area | X | |
| Local United Methodist magazine—study information | X | |
| Enhanced study website | X | |
| Meetings, Conferences & Presentations | ||
| UNC Lineberger Cancer Center conference: presentation & brochures | X | |
| Lincoln Community Health Center Breast Health Day presentation about breast cancer; booth, & gifts for participants | X | |
| Carolina Community Network (CCN): meeting with Project CONNECT, other community organizations & UNC faculty/staff | X | |
| Retention Strategies | ||
| Recruiters helped women plan ahead for study period | X | |
| T1: Intervention materials delivered in person; data collectors reviewed and trained women in salivary cortisol selection | X | |
| Intervention calls or control calls scheduled at subject’s convenience | X | |
| Attentional control condition for control participants; intervention materials sent after study completion | X | |
| T2, Ts & T3: Consistent data collection; ongoing contact, extra trips to pick up saliva samples | X | |
| Financial incentives for completion of T2 & T3 data collections | ||
| Flexibility of and personal contact with data collectors | X | |
| Individual letters and retention gifts mailed every 2 months; birthday cards sent to all participants. | X | |