Recruiting Study Participants
Successful study recruitment depends on trust from
potential participants, and local collaborators can help
forge connections between the researcher and
participants. Providing information about the research
project clearly, early, and to the appropriate key
stakeholders can mitigate possible challenges related to
participant recruitment. It is important for the
researcher not to make assumptions about interdisciplinary
communication and collaboration. For
example, V.L. was unaware the nursing superintendent
of the hospital had not been fully informed about the
research project; this initially hindered recruitment
efforts until a one-on-one meeting with the nursing
superintendent and a translator could be organized.
Other challenges to recruitment included finding space
to meet with potential participants and identifying
deviations in patient/participant flow through the
system. For example, S. I. learned that one physician
bypassed the usual medication allocation process and
collected the medication for patients himself, negating
an opportunity to recruit potential participants.