RECRUITMENT METHODS FOR INTERVENTION RESEARCH IN BEREAVEMENT-RELATED DEPRESSION - 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE

The authors compared various strategies for recruiting elderly subject s with bereavement-related depression into a randomized clinical trial . Over 5 years, they empaneled 65 patients from a total of 441 subject s screened (14.7%). Response to media advertisements was the single mo st effective strategy (54% of subjects). Another effective, but labor- intensive, strategy was using letters to bereaved spouses found throug h newspaper obituaries (14%); another 14% were referred by friends who had seen study advertisements. Information letters to healthcare prov iders yielded no study participants. Pathways to study participation d id not differ as a function of race or gender and did not influence st udy retention or remission rates. Our experience suggests that success ful intake depends on a personal model of recruitment.