A COMPARISON OF METHODS OF RECRUITMENT TO A HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM FOR UNIVERSITY SENIORS

Background Participant recruitment is an understudied part of health r esearch. It can be a limiting factor and can affect the external valid ity of a study. This study compares two recruitment methods, active an d passive, used to recruit university seniors into a health promotion study. Methods. During active recruitment, 3,787 seniors were telephon ed and asked to participate. During passive recruitment, 5,644 seniors were mailed literature and asked to respond if interested. Results. D uring active recruitment, 1,680 h were spent on the phone, 341 partici pants were measured, and 161 entered the study, at a cost of $79 per p articipant. During passive recruitment, 970 h were spent on the phone, 238 participants were measured, and 178 entered the study, at a cost of $45 per participant. The active method had a higher recruitment rat e (9% vs 4%) and attrition rate (53% vs 25%) than the passive method. Conclusions. In conclusion, neither recruitment method was ideal. Thos e recruited with the passive method reported more physical activity an d had lower blood pressures, suggesting a self-selection bias. Active recruitment produced a more representative sample and a higher recruit ment rate. Passive recruitment was less expensive and led to a lower a ttrition rate. Conclusions are limited because these are uncontrolled comparisons, not a controlled study. (C) 1998 American Health Foundati on and Academic Press.