By: Kate Slate
Nearly a year and a half into recruitment, 404 parents and caregivers of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have enrolled in the IDD Parent Advocacy Study at UNC-Chapel Hill, marking the end of our team’s recruitment period. Parents and caregivers located throughout the United States – from North Carolina to California – have consented to participate in one of our two parent group interventions that seek to improve parent and youth health.
Throughout the recruitment period, our team faced several challenges. While some were not unique to our study – such as difficulty in reaching eligible participants and garnering responses – others were. The parents and caregivers we sought have children with a vast array of diagnoses, inclusive of autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, etc. In turn, our youth had varying levels of needs, making study participation less than feasible for a portion of caregivers.
Our original recruitment plan involved working with four partner clinics throughout North Carolina to tap into an eligible participant pool. As months progressed and enrollment rates fell short of desired outcomes, we had to rethink our process. Who were we not reaching? Where were parents and caregivers searching for opportunities like ours? We had to find them.
Project coordinators looked to social media – namely, Facebook – to find interested parents. Additionally, we prioritized reaching out to organizations throughout the state, and eventually throughout the country, who were willing to share the opportunity with their own networks. This proved fruitful to our team, as we recruited nearly half of our 404 participants virtually.
We appreciate the many parents, caregivers, practitioners and professionals who have helped us reach this milestone in our study!