Engaging with community organizations to recruit and retain vulnerable adults: The Pathways Study

Federico Roncarolo; Elsury Johanna Pérez; Geneviève Mercille; Jennifer O'Loughlin; Mylene Riva; Marie-Pierre Sylvestre; Louise Potvin

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101088

Engaging with community organizations to recruit and retain vulnerable adults: The Pathways Study

SSM Popul Health. 2022 Apr 4:18:101088. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101088. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Federico Roncarolo^{1

2

3}, Elsury Johanna Pérez^{1

2

3}, Geneviève Mercille^{1

4}, Jennifer O'Loughlin^{1

3

5}, Mylene Riva⁶, Marie-Pierre Sylvestre^{1

3

5}, Louise Potvin^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Centre de recherche en santé publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal et CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
² Chaire Approches Communautaires et Inégalités de Santé, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
³ École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Department of Nutrition, Université de Montréal, Canada.
⁵ Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Canada.
⁶ Canada Research Chair in Housing, Community and Health, Institute for Health and Social Policy and Department of Geography, McGill University, Canada.

Abstract

•Researchers must overcome multiple barriers in recruiting and retaining research participants living in conditions of vulnerability.•A comprehensive recruitment strategy that combines various elements tailored to vulnerable populations is required.•Most studies describing recruitment and retention of participants from vulnerable populations pertain to clinical settings.•This study describes strategies and challenges in recruiting participants through community organizations.•This paper provides recommendations on recruiting and retaining people living in conditions of extreme vulnerability.

Keywords: Food insecurity; Hard-to-reach populations; Population research; Recruitment; Retention; Vulnerable populations.