Methods: To develop recruitment materials for the SMART Life Study, the project team convened an advisory panel of community members that reflected the study’s target population according to key demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. This panel informed the development of all recruitment materials and methods through an approximately 6-month iterative process.
Results: Following the suggestions of the advisory panel members, SMART Life recruitment materials largely incorporate messages reflecting themes of enhanced financial and employment stability and increased ability to spend time with and provide for family members. The materials also contain hopeful messages of “better health” and “decreased stress” rather than loss-framed messages. While recruitment is ongoing, these advertisements have engaged the interest of approximately 1,055 adults who have completed the study registration form. Among those engaged, approximately 85% are female, 43% identify with a minority racial status, and 5% identify as Hispanic. Additionally, the mean age of respondents is currently 48.2 years old, and 49% report living in homes in which the annual household income is less than $60,000.
Conclusion: The results of this process indicate that developing targeted recruitment materials is an effective approach to engaging the interest of working-age, lower-SES adults in studies of the CDSMP. Incorporating the advertisement cue and strategy preferences discussed during this presentation could enable future nurse leaders to further engage this group in similar health promotion/disease prevention programs. In doing so, we may finally begin to curb the disparities in health outcomes that continually plague this population across the globe.