A Snapshot of Modalities for Recruitment of African Americans for an Intensive Behavioral Therapy Weight Management Intervention during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Learning Outcome
Upon completion, the participant will be able to identify two successful recruitment methods of a minority population for a weight management intervention designed to improve nutrition and physical activity behaviors.
Background
Nutrition and physical activity lifestyle interventions mitigate obesity-related disease risk. African Americans continue to experience disparities in obesity-related disease risk; however, African American participants in the Deep South continue to be underrepresented in intervention research, which is further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to describe recruitment strategies for enrolled African American participants in the Move & Eat 2 Live intensive, individual (ME2L-II) format weight management intervention.
Methods
ME2L-II is an intensive behavioral therapy to address obesity and related chronic disease through nutrition and physical activity counseling among Mississippians. Individuals between 25-50 years, with a Body Mass Index ≥ 28 were included in the study. Data from the study’s digital orientation, screening and consent module was used to analyze recruitment modalities and demographics. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 was used to analyze screener results.
Results
A total of 70 eligible participants who were recruited completed the module and 67.14% (n=47) of these eligible participants identified as African American. Of the 47 African Americans, 24 individuals completed enrollment requirements for the study. Those who did not enroll (n=23) were recruited via family/friends (24%), healthcare clinics (20%), or apartment complexes (20%). Conversely, enrolled participants (n=24) were recruited via healthcare clinics (32%) or apartment complexes (16%).
Conclusion
Underrepresentation in lifestyle intervention research can be addressed through recruitment strategies. Recruitment through more familiar settings (e.g., living area, clinic) attracted the most enrolled participants. Future research should consider how to increase program commitment from recruitment to enrollment.
Funding source
This work was supported by the Mississippi INBRE, funded by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant # P20GM103476.