Research involving participants with chronic diseases: overcoming recruitment obstacles.

Chronic diseases are rampant in the United States and account for the majority of healthcare costs in this country. The implementation of research studies involving members of chronic disease populations is necessary to the development of interventions aimed at preventing these conditions and improving outcomes. The implementation of such studies hinges on the successful recruitment of an adequate number of study participants. Difficulties surrounding participant recruitment in behavioral studies are well documented and present a barrier to researchers aiming to conduct research involving persons with chronic diseases. Common recruitment challenges associated with recruiting chronic disease participants are reviewed, and a highly effective, alternative recruitment strategy used by the authors in a qualitative study involving persons with epilepsy is discussed in detail.