Table 1.

Recommendations to virtually recruit and engage underrepresented and diverse populations, especially for substance use and addictions research

Suggestions
Building community trust prior to project implementation
• Cultivate long-lasting partnerships with the community by fostering bi-directional, genuine, and honest pathways of communication [22–24]
• Establish an enthusiastic, persistent, and diverse research team with population- and community-relevant experiences [21**,28**,32*]
• Involve minority stakeholders in decisions related to the salience, design, materials, recruitment & retention procedures, timeline, and implementation of the study [21**,22]
○ Establish community advisory boards and coalitions [21**,23]
• Determine whether virtual recruitment and study administration are culturally appropriate as well as adhere to all relevant procedural, legal, and ethical considerations or whether another synchronous or asynchronous route of recruitment and study engagement would be a better fit [19,21**]
Virtual recruitment
• Consult the community, citizen scientists, community champions, community health workers, and other relevant stakeholders regarding feasibility and acceptability of specific virtual recruitment methods [21**,31]
• Form concrete goals for the recruitment of diverse and underrepresented populations [24]
• Elicit guidance from community partners regarding potential barriers to fair recruitment and community infrastructure to advance recruitment protocols [21**]
• Re-evaluate and refine pre-pandemic recruitment strategies
○ Utilize purposive sampling strategies to target recruitment towards underrepresented communities or populations who are under-enrolled in the study [34,35,46]
○ Consider recruiting via postings on and paid advertisements through social media and networking, if approved [34,35,46]
○ Regularly assess possible biases, ethical considerations, and privacy issues associated with the recruitment methods used [45]
○ Incorporate strategies to prevent fraudulent enrollment and routinely check for data integrity [49–52]
Virtual administration of studies involving interviews or focus groups
• Provide Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved flexibility
○ Offer participation opportunities during weekends, early mornings, or later afternoons/evenings to allow the experiences of people who are unable to participate during the traditional workday to be included [16*,39,57,61]
○ Allow participants to select the route of administering the interview or focus group (e.g., via telephone, virtual platform, or in-person while adhering to appropriate social-distancing protocols)
• Offer participants resources, such as a mobile hotspot to obtain internet access or Visa gift card to add minutes to their cellphones [54*,59]
• Prior to the interview or focus group, email participants guides, including frequently asked questions and solutions, on how to utilize the virtual platform needed to participate in the virtual study [55]
• Before beginning the virtual interview or focus group, inform participants that they should be in a private location to participate in the study [19,37,61]
○ Offer alternative solutions, such as a private research room in which social distancing measures can be implemented, if a participant is not able to access a private area to participate in the virtual interview or focus group [57]
• Provide participants access to a research team member who could offer advanced technical support related to using the technology (e.g., virtual platform) needed to participate in the study [16*,37,55,61]