Factors Influencing Participation in Biospecimen Research among Parents of Youth with Mental Health Conditions

Motivators and barriers to neurodevelopmental research enrolment

Purpose: Participant recruitment for studies investigating neurodevelopmental conditions can be difficult, limited, and resource intensive. In this study, caregivers were surveyed to learn about the factors influencing their decision to enroll their neurodivergent child in research.Method: Data were collected through an online survey from caregivers of neurodivergent children who were signing up for a research recruitment database (n = 46).Results: Participants indicated the most important motives were to help achieve better outcomes for other children and to contribute to scientific understanding. Personal curiosities, such as the caregiver or child learning more about their condition, were identified as important for some parents. The most influential barrier to enrollment noted by participants was a heightened possibility of a significant negative side effect.Conclusion: These findings provide essential insight that can inform study design and associated research support that could overcome barriers and ensure families are aware of the benefits of participating in research.

Recruitment and retention of adolescents for an ecological momentary assessment measurement burst mental health study: The MHIM engagement strategy

INTRODUCTION

Recruitment and long-term retention of adolescent participants in longitudinal research are challenging and may be especially so in studies involving remote measurement and biosampling components. The ability to effectively recruit and retain participants can be supported by the use of specific evidence-based engagement strategies that are built in from the earliest stages.

METHODS

Informed by a review of the evidence on effective engagement strategies and consultations with adolescents (via two Young Person Advisory Groups [YPAGs]; ages 11-13 and 14-17), the current protocol describes the planned participant engagement strategy for the Mental Health in the Moment Study: a multimodal measurement burst study of adolescent mental health across ages 11-19.

RESULTS

The protocol incorporates engagement strategies in four key domains: consultations/co-design with the target population, incentives, relationship-building and burden/barrier reduction. In addition to describing general engagement strategies in longitudinal studies, we also discuss specific concerns regarding engagement in data collection methods such as biosampling and ecological momentary assessment where a paucity of evidence exists.

CONCLUSION

Engagement strategies for adolescent mental health studies should be based on existing evidence and consultations with adolescents. We present our approach in developing the planned engagement strategies and also discuss limitations and future directions in engaging adolescents in longitudinal research.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

The study design for this project places a strong emphasis on the active engagement of adolescents throughout its development. Specifically, the feedback and suggestions provided by the YPAGs have been instrumental in refining our strategies for maximising the recruitment and retention of participants.

Characterizing participants who respond to text, email, phone calls, or postcards in a SARS-CoV-2 prevalence study

INTRODUCTION

Multiple modalities and frequencies of contact are needed to maximize recruitment in many public health surveys. The purpose of this analysis is to characterize respondents to a statewide SARS-CoV-2 testing study whose participation followed either postcard, phone outreach or electronic means of invitation. In addition, we examine how participant characteristics differ based upon the number of contacts needed to elicit participation.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional analysis of survey data collected from participants who were randomly selected to represent Indiana residents and were invited to be tested for Covid-19 in April 2020. Participants received invitations via postcard, text/emails, and/or robocalls/texts based upon available contact information. The modality, and frequency of contacts, that prompted participation was determined by when the notification was sent and when the participant responded and subsequently registered to participate in the study. Chi square analyses were used to determine differences between groups and significant findings were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.

RESULTS

Respondents included 3,658 individuals and were stratified by postcards (7.9%), text/emails (26.5%), and robocalls/text (65.7%) with 19.7% registering after 1 contact, 47.9% after 2 contacts, and 32.4% after 3 contacts encouraging participation. Females made up 54.6% of the sample and responded at a higher rate for postcards (8.2% vs. 7.5%) and text/emails (28.1 vs. 24.6%) as compared to males (χ2 = 7.43, p = 0.025). Compared to males, females responded at a higher percentage after 1 contact (21.4 vs. 17.9%, χ2 = 7.6, p = 0.023). Those over 60 years responded most often after 2 contacts (χ2 = 27.5, p < 0.001) when compared to others at younger age groups. In regression analysis, participant sex (p = 0.036) age (p = 0.005), educational attainment (p = < 0.0001), and being motivated by "free testing" (p = 0.036) were correlated with participation in the prevalence study.

DISCUSSION

Researchers should be aware that the modality of contact as well as the number of prompts used could influence differential participation in public health studies. Our findings can inform researchers developing studies that rely on selective participation by study subjects. We explore how to increase participation within targeted demographic groups using specific modalities and examining frequency of contact.

Participation in genetic screening: testing different outreach methods across a diverse hospital system based patient population

Introduction: Genomics has the potential to transform medicine by identifying genetic risk factors that predispose people to certain illnesses. Use of genetic screening is rapidly expanding and shifting towards screening all patients regardless of known risk factors, but research is limited on the success of broad population-level outreach for genetic testing and the effectiveness of different outreach methods across diverse populations. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of Digital Only (emailing and texting) and Brochure Plus Digital (mailed brochure, emailing, and texting) outreach to encourage a diverse patient population to participate in a large hospital system's whole genome sequencing program. Methods: Disproportionate stratified sampling was used to create a study population more demographically diverse than the eligible population and response rates were analyzed overall and by demographics to understand the effectiveness of different outreach strategies. Results: 7.5% of all eligible patients enrolled in the program. While approximately 70% of patients invited to complete genetic testing identified in their EHR as being Hispanic, Black or African America, Asian, or another non-White race, these patients generally enrolled at lower rates than the overall population. Other underrepresented groups had higher enrollment rates including people with Medicaid coverage (8.7%) and those residing in rural areas (10.6%). We found no significant difference in enrollment rates between our Digital-Only and our Brochure Plus Digital outreach approaches in the overall population, but enrollment rates were significantly higher for Asian patients and patients who resided in rural areas in the Brochure Plus Digital group. Across both outreach approaches, links provided in emails were most commonly used for enrollment. Discussion: Our study reveals expected enrollment rates for proactive outreach by a hospital system for genetic testing in a diverse population. As more hospital systems are adopting population-scale genetic testing, these findings can inform future outreach efforts to recruit patients for genetic testing including those patients traditionally underrepresented in genomics.

Comparison of Demographic and Clinical Features of Bipolar Disorder in Persons of African and European Ancestry

AIM

This study quantified and compared demographic and clinical features of bipolar disorder (BD) in persons of African ancestry (AA) and European ancestry (EUR).

METHODS

Participants enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Bipolar Biobank from 2009 to 2015. The structured clinical interview for DSM-IV was used to confirm the diagnosis of BD, and a questionnaire was developed to collect data on the clinical course of illness. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were completed to compare AA versus EUR participants. Subsequently, clinical outcomes were compared between AA and EUR participants using linear regression for continuous outcomes or logistic regression for binary outcomes while controlling for differences in age, sex, and recruitment site.

RESULTS

Of 1865 participants enrolled in the bipolar biobank, 65 (3.5%) self-identified as AA. The clinical phenotype for AA participants, in comparison to EUR participants, was more likely to include a history of PTSD (39.7% vs. 26.2%), cocaine use disorder (24.2% vs. 11.9%), and tardive dyskinesia (7.1% vs. 3%).

CONCLUSION

The low rate of AA enrollment is consistent with other genetic studies. While clinical features of bipolar disorder are largely similar, this study identified differences in rates of trauma, substance use, and tardive dyskinesia that may represent health disparities in bipolar patients of African ancestry. Future bipolar biomarker studies with larger sample sizes focused on underrepresented populations will provide greater ancestry diversity in genomic medicine with greater applicability to diverse patient populations, serving to inform health care policies to address disparities in bipolar disorder.

Pediatric biorepository participation during the COVID-19 pandemic: predictors of enrollment and biospecimen donation

Background

Patient-level predictors of enrollment in pediatric biorepositories are poorly described. Especially in pandemic settings, understanding who is likely to enroll in a biorepository is critical to interpreting analyses conducted on biospecimens. We describe predictors of pediatric COVID-19 biorepository enrollment and biospecimen donation to identify gaps in COVID-19 research on pediatric biospecimens.

Methods

We compared data from enrollees and non-enrollees aged 0–25 years with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection who were approached for enrollment in the Massachusetts General Hospital pediatric COVID-19 biorepository between April 12, 2020, and May 28, 2020, from community or academic outpatient or inpatient settings. Demographic and clinical data at presentation to care were from automatic and manual chart extractions. Predictors of enrollment and biospecimen donation were assessed with Poisson regression models.

Results

Among 457 individuals approached, 214 (47%) enrolled in the biorepository. A COVID-19 epidemiologic risk factor was recorded for 53%, and 15% lived in a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-defined COVID-19 hotspot. Individuals living in a COVID-19 hotspot (relative risk (RR) 2.4 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8–3.2]), with symptoms at presentation (RR 1.8 [95% CI: 1.2–2.7]), or admitted to hospital (RR 1.8 [95% CI: 1.2–2.8]) were more likely to enroll. Seventy-nine percent of enrollees donated any biospecimen, including 97 nasopharyngeal swabs, 119 oropharyngeal swabs, and 105 blood, 16 urine, and 16 stool specimens, respectively. Age, sex, race, ethnicity, and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status based on zip code did not predict enrollment or biospecimen donation.

Conclusions

While fewer than half of individuals approached consented to participate in the pediatric biorepository, enrollment appeared to be representative of children affected by the pandemic. Living in a COVID-19 hotspot, symptoms at presentation to care and hospital admission predicted biorepository enrollment. Once enrolled, most individuals donated a biospecimen.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-022-03185-6.

Facilitators and Barriers to Pediatric Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention in Rural and Community Settings: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Children in rural settings are underrepresented in clinical trials, potentially contributing to rural health disparities. We performed a scoping review describing available literature on barriers and facilitators impacting participation in pediatric clinical trials in rural and community-based (non-clinical) settings. Articles identified via PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science were independently double-screened at title/abstract and full-text levels to identify articles meeting eligibility criteria. Included articles reported on recruitment or retention activities for U.S.-based pediatric clinical studies conducted in rural or community-based settings and were published in English through January 2021. Twenty-seven articles describing 31 studies met inclusion criteria. Most articles reported on at least one study conducted in an urban or suburban or unspecified community setting (n=23 articles; 85%); fewer (n=10; 37%) reported on studies that spanned urban and rural settings or were set in rural areas. More studies discussed recruitment facilitators (n=25 studies; 81%) and barriers (n=19; 61%) versus retention facilitators (n=15; 48%) and barriers (n=8; 26%). Descriptions of recruitment and retention barriers and facilitators were primarily experiential or subjective. Recruitment and retention facilitators were similar across settings and included: contacts/reminders, community engagement and relationship-building, consideration of participant logistics, and incentives. Inadequate staff and resources were commonly cited recruitment and retention barriers. Few studies have rigorously examined optimal ways to recruit and retain rural participants in pediatric clinical trials. To expand the evidence base, future studies examining recruitment and retention strategies should systematically assess and report rurality and objectively compare relative impact of different strategies.