Recruiting Hard-to-Reach Populations Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Surv Pract. 2023;16(1):10.29115/sp-2023-0011. doi: 10.29115/sp-2023-0011. Epub 2023 Aug 17.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many challenges for conducting research, particularly for research studies reliant on community-based sample generation strategies. In late 2021, we undertook two qualitative research studies for which we needed to identify and recruit hard-to-reach populations from the community. This brief describes our approach to adapting traditional, in-person methods to virtual means of disseminating study information and connecting with potential participants, with implications for future recruitment efforts in situations when in-person options are constrained.