Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women (BMSMW) in an Urban Setting for HIV Prevention Research

Starting from the premise that obtaining reliable and generalizable research findings requires effective recruitment and retention of the target population, low minority participation rates in health-related research can reduce study applicability and efficiency. Fear and distrust towards medical research has been fostered by studies in which minorities were deceived or taken advantage of, and by individual and community experiences of poor or discriminatory healthcare encounters. This distrust, together with lack of reading level appropriate and language-specific information, complex informed consent processes,  and limited access to healthcare and transportation has contributed to low research participation rates.

The situation becomes even more challenging when research is focused on sensitive and traditionally stigmatized sexual behaviors in minorities.In response to the Federal requirements designed to foster equitable selection of research participants, many researchers have implemented culturally, linguistically and socially relevant recruitment strategies . Despite these efforts, recruitingspecific subgroups such as minorities from large metropolitan areas remainschallenging. For example, low-income urban neighborhoods present additional challenges of increased resident turnover and reduced interest in prevention interventions, particularly when individuals lead a day-to-day existence with regard to food and shelter. Read more..............