The Oklahoma Postmenopausal Women's Health Study: recruitment and characteristics of American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Caucasian women.

Since 1994, the National Institutes of Health has required the inclusion of women and minorities in all of its sponsored clinical research. This study describes a workable recruitment strategy that embraces the National Institutes of Health requirement. We describe the recruitment pattern of the Oklahoma Postmenopausal Women's Study conducted in the general community of Oklahoma City and in surrounding areas that are both urban and rural. For the period 1994 through 1997, 491 postmenopausal women from all racial/ethnic groups in the community have participated in this study. Over 4 years of recruitment, the percentage of minority women in the study population has risen annually from 31% in 1994 to 81% in 1997. The overall percentage of minority women in the study population is currently 63.3%: American Indian, 21.8%; Asian, 3.7%; Black, 14.9%; Hispanic, 9.4%; White/American Indian Blend, 13.6%; and White, 36.7%. The recruitment approach described may be implemented in a variety of research settings. Specific recruitment approaches are described, as well as the distribution of sociodemographic and health behaviors across and within ethnic/racial groups.