Recruitment of rural and cognitively impaired older adults for dental research

• Published in: Special care in dentistry 2010-09, Vol.30 (5), p.193-199
• Main Authors: Wu, Bei, Goedereis, Eric A, Crout, Richard J, Plassman, Brenda L, DiNapoli, Elizabeth A, McNeil, Daniel W, Wiener, Michael, Boone, Martin L, Wiener, R Constance, Kao, Elizabeth, Bai, Lina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Assisted Living Facilities; Attitude to Health; Cognition Disorders; Community Networks; Dental Care - utilization; Dental Research; Dentistry; Drug Therapy; Female; Health Education, Dental; Health Status; Humans; Independent Living; Information Dissemination; Interviews as Topic; Male; Mental Health; Mouth Diseases - classification; Neuropsychological Tests; Oral Health; Oral Hygiene; Patient Selection; Periodontal Diseases - classification; Research Design; Research Subjects; Rural Population; Tooth Diseases - classification; West Virginia
• ISSN: 0275-1879; 1754-4505
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-4505.2010.00150.x

The recruitment of community-dwelling older adults, particularly those with cognitive impairment and those residing in rural areas, has been consistently challenging for researchers, especially in the dental field. This study reports on recruitment experiences from an ongoing study investigating the association between oral health and cognitive status in later life. Multiple recruitment strategies, including educational presentations and traveling to participants' homes, were used to enroll rural elderly participants with various levels of cognitive function. In general, multipronged, proactive recruitment strategies were more effective than traditional, passive methods in reaching participants with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. The outcome of this study suggests that successful recruitment of such populations involves gaining the support of staff at relevant community organizations, informing community members (including older adults and their family members) of the project and the importance of oral health, and making data collection sites accessible for older adults.