Recruiting and Retaining Indigenous Farmworker Participants

There is limited information on the specific practices used to successfully recruit and retain indigenous and Latino farmworkers in research studies. This article describes the strategies used in a community-based participatory research project with indigenous agricultural workers. Participants were recruited through consulting with indigenous relatives and friends, identifying and meeting with indigenous leaders from hometown associations in countries of origin, and asking current participants to recruit fellow farmworkers. Adjustments were initiated to the second year protocol to enhance recruitment and retention. The difference in attrition rates between years one and two was statistically significant, a difference partially attributed to modifications to recruitment and retention protocol. Findings confirmed that active recruitment techniques and word-of-mouth recruitment were more effective than passive methods. Trust among academic, organization, and community partners, and shared language and culture between those doing the recruitment and the participants, contributed to sustained farmworker participation.