Best Practices in Recruitment and Outreach to Women and Diverse Veterans for Coronavirus Research at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Mary M Klote; Claudia G Gutierrez; Jennifer E Deen; Lori L Churby; Patrick Bateman; Victoria J Davey

doi:10.1089/heq.2023.0013

Best Practices in Recruitment and Outreach to Women and Diverse Veterans for Coronavirus Research at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Health Equity. 2023 May 26;7(1):351-355. doi: 10.1089/heq.2023.0013. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mary M Klote¹, Claudia G Gutierrez¹, Jennifer E Deen¹, Lori L Churby¹, Patrick Bateman¹, Victoria J Davey¹

Affiliation

¹ Office of Research and Development, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

Abstract

In September 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a novel volunteer research registry to rapidly recruit eligible study participants for research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at VA Medical Centers selected as study sites for COVID-19 clinical trials. Targeted multimedia outreach campaigns were used to recruit diverse populations, including those historically under-represented in medical research. By November 2022, 58,561 volunteers were enrolled in the registry, 19% of whom were women, 9% Hispanic/Latino, and 8% Black. The registry's strategic approach to outreach proved successful in recruiting diverse volunteers, with geotargeted e-mails recruiting the most diversity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Veterans; coronavirus; recruitment; research.