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