As the associations between the gut microbiota and numerous health outcomes become more evident, it is important to conduct longitudinal microbiome research to advance the field beyond the identification of associations. It is also necessary to include individuals who have historically been underrepresented in biomedical research in longitudinal microbiome studies to better understand and eliminate racial/ethnic health disparities. This paper describes our experiences in recruiting and retaining participants for an ongoing, longitudinal microbiome study for which the main results will be reported at a later time. This article provides preliminary evidence of the feasibility of recruiting and retaining a racially diverse sample of females (97% completion for invited participants) for longitudinal microbiome research.
Keywords: Biospecimen; Longitudinal; Microbiome; Recruitment; Underrepresented minorities.