Recruiting older subjects for psychological studies of chronic disease: Are community volunteer and clinic-based samples equivalent?

Abstract

Recruitment of older subjects for psychological research on chronic disease is a complex undertaking that is often described inadequately, or not at all, in research reports. Research is needed to determine the impact of different recruitment strategies. This study evaluated the comparability of subjects recruited through community volunteer procedures versus a clinic-based approach that involved contacting all patients who met specified inclusion criteria. Subjects recruited via the two procedures were very similar on demographic and medical characteristics, psychosocial variables, and quality of life. Results were replicated across two prevalent chronic diseases associated with aging: osteoarthritis and non-insulin dependent diabetes. The results suggest that in many circumstances, community volunteer recruitment methods may be justified, especially when studying conditions that have relatively objective diagnostic criteria. It is recommended that future studies compare different recruitment methods, and report on the participation rates and representativeness of participants obtained via each method.