Effective Recruitment Strategies for African-American Men and Women: the Nutritious Eating with Soul Study

Previous studies have found it challenging to recruit African-American (AA) participants into health education research studies. The goal of this article is to describe the recruitment methods used for the Nutritious Eating with Soul (NEW Soul) study, a 2-year randomized behavioral health education intervention, conducted in two cohorts, with emphasis on methods used for reaching men. Participants indicated how they learned about the study on an online screening questionnaire from a list of the recruitment strategies we employed. Due to limited recruitment of men in Cohort 1, recruitment strategies for Cohort 2 focused on reaching men. Across the two cohorts, a total of 568 (23% men) participants completed the online screener and 159 (21% men) completed all baseline assessments and enrolled in the study. The most effective methods for completing screening questionnaires were radio ads, referrals from friends and family, TV interviews, social media posts and community events. Men were primarily recruited via radio ads, whereas women were more often recruited through TV and social media. Radio was an effective way to recruit AA adults into nutrition interventions, particularly men. In addition, low-cost methods, such as personal referrals, social media posts and community events were also effective strategies.