Strategies to recruit older adults for participation in rehabilitation research

This article described four innovative strategies used to recruit 250 older rehabilitation patients for participation in a research study and examines the outcomes of the recruitment process. The strategies involved a collaborative framework from which investigative procedures were developed and implemented, the use of a clinician to serve as an on-site coordinator to complement and augment the traditional role of a research coordinator, a three-step tracking system that was used to follow patients from admission to discharge, and an inservice program for clinical staff. Reasons for ineligibility were found to significantly differ among patients from three impairment groups (stroke, orthopedic deficits, or lower limb amputation) considered for study participation. Two major outcomes of the recruitment experience in this study include the importance of collaboration between research and clinical staff in the decision-making process and that specific strategies need to be developed for distinct clinical populations among older persons.