Forget research incentives and get to know older people instead

Recruitment for a study was fun once Lillian Jones stopped thinking about it
Last year, I visited some senior citizen centres in rural areas of the western United States to recruit older people at risk of developing depression, for a study on social interaction and mental well-being.
The long drives to and from the centres, the lack of interest in my study by some centre directors and the overall poor recruitment made me depressed. I began to wonder why I wanted to focus on rural community-dwelling older people.
Before the visits I researched and incorporated recruitment methods and strategies. I scheduled appointments for recruitment days in advance. I tried tempting potential volunteers with offers of gifts and raffle tickets for a gift card. I even decorated my recruitment booth.
Did all this
...Want to read more?
Unlock full access to RCNi Plus today
Save over 50% on your first three months:
- Customisable clinical dashboard featuring 200+ topics
- Unlimited online access to all 10 RCNi Journals including Nursing Older People
- RCNi Learning featuring 180+ RCN accredited learning modules
- NMC-compliant RCNi Portfolio to build evidence for revalidation
- Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests

This article is not available as part of an institutional subscription. Why is this?
