BACKGROUND: HealthLinks is a workplace health promotion program developed in partnership with the American Cancer Society. It delivers a package of evidence-based interventions and implementation support to small worksites in low-wage industries. As part of a randomized, controlled trial of HealthLinks, we studied approaches to recruiting these worksites. AIMS: This study aims to guide future recruitment for community-based worksite health promotion interventions by comparing three approaches, including leveraging relationships with community partners. METHOD:We recruited 78 small, low-wage worksites in King County, Washington, to participate in the trial via three approaches: phone calls to companies on a purchased list ("cold"), phone calls to a list of eligible companies provided by a health insurer ("lukewarm"), and personal referrals from local health insurers and brokers ("warm"). Eligible and interested worksites received an in-person visit from researchers and completed additional steps to enroll. RESULTS:Of the worksites screened and deemed eligible, 32% of the "cold" worksites enrolled in HealthLinks, as did 48% and 60%, respectively, of the "lukewarm" and "warm" worksites. Compared with "warm" worksites, "cold" worksites were twice as likely to be ineligible. DISCUSSION: Two distinct factors help explain why "warmer" worksites were more likely to enroll in HealthLinks. First, eligibility was significantly higher among warmer referrals. Second, most of the warm-referred worksites eligible for the study agreed to meet in person with the project team to hear more about the project. CONCLUSIONS: "Warmer" recruitment approaches yielded higher recruitment. Leveraging relationships with community partners can help researchers identify and successfully recruit small, low-wage worksites.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: HealthLinks is a workplace health promotion program developed in partnership with the American Cancer Society. It delivers a package of evidence-based interventions and implementation support to small worksites in low-wage industries. As part of a randomized, controlled trial of HealthLinks, we studied approaches to recruiting these worksites. AIMS: This study aims to guide future recruitment for community-based worksite health promotion interventions by comparing three approaches, including leveraging relationships with community partners. METHOD: We recruited 78 small, low-wage worksites in King County, Washington, to participate in the trial via three approaches: phone calls to companies on a purchased list ("cold"), phone calls to a list of eligible companies provided by a health insurer ("lukewarm"), and personal referrals from local health insurers and brokers ("warm"). Eligible and interested worksites received an in-person visit from researchers and completed additional steps to enroll. RESULTS: Of the worksites screened and deemed eligible, 32% of the "cold" worksites enrolled in HealthLinks, as did 48% and 60%, respectively, of the "lukewarm" and "warm" worksites. Compared with "warm" worksites, "cold" worksites were twice as likely to be ineligible. DISCUSSION: Two distinct factors help explain why "warmer" worksites were more likely to enroll in HealthLinks. First, eligibility was significantly higher among warmer referrals. Second, most of the warm-referred worksites eligible for the study agreed to meet in person with the project team to hear more about the project. CONCLUSIONS: "Warmer" recruitment approaches yielded higher recruitment. Leveraging relationships with community partners can help researchers identify and successfully recruit small, low-wage worksites.
Entities:
Keywords:
community health promotion; community-based interventions; health promotion; organizational recruitment; research design; worksite health promotion
Authors: Peggy A Hannon; Kristen Hammerback; Marlana J Kohn; Christine M Kava; Kwun C Gary Chan; Amanda T Parrish; Claire Allen; Christian D Helfrich; Caitlin Mayotte; Shirley A Beresford; Jeffrey R Harris Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2019-10-17 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Craig N Sawchuk; Joan Russo; Gary Ferguson; Jennifer Williamson; Janice A Sabin; Jack Goldberg; Odile Madesclaire; Olivia E Bogucki; Dedra Buchwald Journal: Prev Chronic Dis Date: 2020-10-15 Impact factor: 2.830