Recruitment and enrollment of participants in an online diabetes self-management intervention in a virtual environment.

Effective recruitment of research participants is essential for successful randomized controlled trials and remains one of the most challenging and labor-intensive aspects of conducting research. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe recruitment methods for this two-group, internet-based intervention trial and enrollment status in relation to recruitment methods, accounting for accrual rates and recruitment costs and to discuss our recruitment results and limitations informed by the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) team's evidence and expert-based recommendations for recruitment. The primary study was a two-group randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual environment, Diabetes LIVE©, compared to a traditional website format to provide diabetes self-management education and support to adults with type 2 diabetes. Our recruitment experience was labor-intensive, multimodal, and required multiple iterations throughout the study to meet recruitment goals. To allow for more efficient and realistic budgets aligned with funding, researchers should engage stakeholders in recruitment planning and monitor and report personnel time and cost by recruitment methods. To allow for more efficient and effective recruitment into meaningful clinical trials and of interest to participants, researchers should use a participative approach during all study phases, including question development.

Integrative Review of Recruitment of Research Participants Through Facebook.

BACKGROUND: Facebook (FB) has been widely used recently to recruit participants for adult health research. However, little is known about its effectiveness, cost, and the characteristics of participants recruited via FB when compared to other recruitment methods. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this integrative review was to examine the published evidence concerning the use of FB in participant recruitment for adult health research, as compared to other social media, online, and traditional recruitment methods. METHODS: In this integrative review, we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were the electronic databases used to identify the published articles. In regard to language, the search was limited. RESULTS: The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of using FB for recruitment in healthcare research as compared to more traditional forms of recruitment remain unclear. Reporting of recruitment strategies is inconsistent, and costs are often not included. FB is being used for recruitment frequently with other methods and, although often effective, can be costly. DISCUSSION: FB is used to recruit participants for a variety of studies, with researchers using both free and paid ads to reach potential participants. Reporting of recruitment methods needs to be more rigorous, streamlined, and standardized in scientific papers.

Explaining Racial/Ethnic Dietary Patterns in Relation to Type 2 Diabetes: An Analysis of NHANES 2007-2012.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to examine sociodemographic and health behavior factors associated with dietary intake as measured by the healthy eating index (HEI-2010) for persons with and without diabetes (T2D). DESIGN: A secondary data analysis of three NHANES data cycles spanning 2007-2012. Multiple linear regression assessed racial/ethnic differences in HEI-2010 scores in those without T2D, with T2D, and with undiagnosed T2D. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included non-pregnant adults aged ≥20 years who had two days of reliable dietary recall data. OUTCOME MEASURES: Total scores for the HEI-2010. RESULTS: For those without T2D, there was a significant association between race/ethnicity and HEI score, with non-Hispanic Blacks achieving significantly lower scores than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Differences in HEI-2010 score were also associated with age, sex, smoking status and time spent in the United States. Racial/ethnic differences in dietary patterns were present, but not significant in those with undiagnosed or diagnosed T2D. CONCLUSIONS: Racial/ethnic disparities in dietary patterns are present in individuals without T2D, but differences are not statistically significant in those with undiagnosed or diagnosed T2D. Non-Hispanic Blacks without T2D received significantly lower HEI-2010 scores than non-Hispanic Whites. Further research is necessary to determine whether or not similarities in dietary intake across racial/ethnic groups with T2D will be reflected in diabetes-related health outcomes in this population.

Diet, inflammation, and glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: an integrative review of the literature.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing national health problem affecting 35% of adults ≥20 years of age in the United States. Recently, diabetes has been categorized as an inflammatory disease, sharing many of the adverse outcomes as those reported from cardiovascular disease. Medical nutrition therapy is recommended for the treatment of diabetes; however, these recommendations have not been updated to target the inflammatory component, which can be affected by diet and lifestyle. To assess the current state of evidence for which dietary programs contain the most anti-inflammatory and glycemic control properties for patients with T2D, we conducted an integrative review of the literature. A comprehensive search of the PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from January 2000 to May 2012 yielded 786 articles. The final 16 studies met the selection criteria including randomized control trials, quasiexperimental, or cross-sectional studies that compared varying diets and measured inflammatory markers. The Mediterranean and DASH diets along with several low-fat diets were associated with lower inflammatory markers. The Mediterranean diet demonstrated the most clinically significant reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)). Information on best dietary guidelines for inflammation and glycemic control in individuals with T2D is lacking. Continued research is warranted.