Recruitment is challenging. Ask any design researcher, and they'll likely tell you it's one of the toughest parts of their job. Finding the right people and asking for their time is difficult, especially when working with sensitive groups or busy providers, and particularly when there's no compensation involved.

From the start, I was warned about the recruitment difficulties I would face in my research. Some even advised me to change my topic to something less embedded in the healthcare system. It was indeed hard, impacting my research significantly and delaying my process.

However, I'm grateful to Liz for encouraging me to persevere in the healthcare space. Her support gave me the courage to tackle recruitment head-on. Involving patients, providers, and researchers is crucial in healthcare research, and I'm thankful for the experience I gained through this program.

For those in school looking to recruit participants in the healthcare space, I want to share my advice in this post.

Before discussing recruitment strategies, I want to emphasize the importance of securing funding if possible. Universities often offer small grants for travel and recruitment. Planning for this in advance can help you compensate participants, especially patients. If you're unsure about fair compensation, a startup called Savy specializes in determining fair values for patient participation. Although fair compensation is ideal, try to secure as much funding as possible even if you fall short.

Recruiting Patients:

Patients are more willing than providers or researchers to participate, though they can be hard to recruit. Here are some tips:

Find a Community or Organization: Search for communities or organizations related to the condition you're studying. Engaging with these groups can help you build trust and learn from them, making your recruitment efforts easier. These communities can shape your research and help you focus on areas important to them, leading to more relevant and usable outcomes.

Build Trust: Working with established communities provides a platform to build trust. This relationship can streamline your recruitment process and ensure that your research is meaningful to the participants.

Utilize Volunteer Networks: Look for communities that welcome volunteers. This is particularly useful if you are at the beginning of your research and still defining your focus.By creating a strong connection with an organization or community, your recruitment efforts will be more successful, and your research will be more impactful.

You can still reach out to communities and organizations even if you haven't established a relationship with them, though they may be less likely to assist with recruitment as much as you'd hope. Another good resource for participants is student organizations within your university. Attend their meetings, introduce yourself, explain your research, and build trust. This approach helps them see the value of your work and increases the likelihood of participation.

If you don't have time to build these relationships, you can still reach out when needed, but success rates may vary depending on your research focus. Additionally, if you're at The Ohio State University, the Clinical and Translational Science Center (CCTS) can provide valuable support for patient recruitment, though they may have limited resources for recruiting providers. They are open to offering recommendations and exploring various recruitment paths.

Another effective recruitment method is using social media, particularly Facebook groups designed for research involvement of individuals with various conditions. There are many such groups where you can post your research, and interested people will reach out to you.

However, it's crucial to post in groups specifically created for recruitment to avoid being removed. Other platforms like Reddit can also be useful, but based on personal experience, Facebook tends to have more reliable participants who are less likely to ghost you. Keep in mind that the age range on Facebook might be higher, which could be beneficial or limiting depending on your research focus. 

Another recruitment strategy involves using Facebook and Instagram ads to target specific patients and providers. However, this method is not free. As a student at OSU, you must contact your school's organization that manages social media advertising. The cost is $200 per week to post your ad. Although I haven't personally used this method, the CCTS has had success recruiting patients through social media ads. However, they lack experience with provider recruitment, which involves some risk of not getting any participants.

Another method for patient recruitment is distributing posters and cards in high-traffic areas like garages, cafeterias, libraries, and various departments. While posters may not always be highly effective, they can still increase visibility.

My favorite method is using ResearchMatch, a platform connecting researchers with volunteers. If your institution partners with ResearchMatch, you can contact your school's liaison to set up a profile for your study. By submitting details about your research, you can start recruiting participants. For both phases of my research, ResearchMatch has been my most successful recruitment tool.

Another platform at OSU you can use is StudySearch. By submitting your study, you can post it on the platform's website, accessible to students who can then reach out if interested. However, it may take a while for your study to be published. In my experience, it took about a month to set the initial meeting before submission of the study, so if you plan to use this platform, start early.

Lastly, you can use personal networks. Reach out to people, explain your research, and ask for referrals. Always ask participants to introduce others, a method known as snowball sampling. If you know providers or administrative staff, ask them to distribute your cards or posters to patients. Studies endorsed by providers often gain more trust and participation, though finding such connections can be challenging.

Recruiting Providers

Recruiting providers is significantly more challenging, especially if you’re not a medical or PhD student. Providers have limited time and may prioritize other research they perceive as more valuable. Be prepared for this difficulty.

The best strategy is to establish connections with nurses or administrative staff in clinics related to your research topic. Use your network to find these connections, as nurses or administrative staff can facilitate introductions and recruitment efforts.

If possible, include someone on your research committee with experience in recruitment or healthcare connections. This can greatly enhance your recruitment efforts. For instance, a member of my research committee helped me connect with a nurse at the LongCovid Clinic at OSU, leading to the recruitment of three out of four healthcare providers in my research.

Additionally, look for organizations and departments within your school that conduct research in your field. Cold emailing researchers, coordinators, or staff directors can also be effective. I received this advice from an experienced recruiter in the healthcare space.

Lastly, consider reaching out to research centers such as OSU's Catalyst for Long COVID research or diabetes research departments, or any other department related to the condition you are focusing on, as they may offer support and connections for your recruitment needs.

Establishing connections with community members can also help you connect with providers, though this may not be the most effective method. Communities often have relationships with providers, making it easier to reach them.

Explore provider research portals offered by your organization or university. For instance, OSU's portal, Healthbeathub, allows you to create an account, submit your research for review, and post recruitment materials.

Cold emailing nurses and providers through your university's database is another option, though it may have limited success. If you find one willing participant, they can often connect you with others.

Reaching out to student organizations for medical students can also be beneficial. Look for students in multidisciplinary classes related to medical fields to get feedback and potential participants.

Recruitment is challenging but manageable with proper planning. Avoid multiple rounds of time-consuming research methods. Aim to complete interviews, co-design workshops, or focus groups in one round, as repeat participation is uncertain. My experience involved eight months to recruit 13 patients, five researchers, and four providers for the stage one interviews of the research. This led to the decision to conduct surveys for stage two of the research instead of co-design. Given the time constraints of my program, this was the best option. Within a month and a half of recruitment efforts, 95 patients responded, along with 1 researcher and 2 providers.

By planning ahead and using a variety of methods, you can improve your chances of successful recruitment.