Recruitment of a Diverse Community-based Older Adult Cohort for a Longitudinal Aging Study: The 15104 Seniors Project.

INTRODUCTION: Enrolling individuals from underrepresented ethnoracial groups in aging research is often a challenge. METHODS: We sought a diverse sample of older adults from a small-town area for a longitudinal aging study. We employed an intensive community engagement approach encompassing a range of recruitment strategies. RESULTS: Over 4 years a steady trickle of individuals, 66% self-identifying as Black, signed up for study information; the proportion of those who eventually enroll in the study has been rising each year, from 68% to 94%. Community events, word-of-mouth referrals, and mailed postcards brought in the most contacts. The highest percentage of contacts who ultimately enrolled were from postcards, flyers, and word-of-mouth. Significantly more word-of-mouth referrals were endorsed by Black individuals than White and by Black men than other race/sex groups. CONCLUSIONS: We have had some success in building relationships and trust with the local community, enrolling Black study participants in a proportion equal to their representation in the target community using a variety of recruitment methods. Patience, immersion in the community, and partnerships with key community members alongside traditional advertisements, and the utilization of study participants as recruiters are critical to designing optimal, targeted, recruitment strategies.

Medical and cognitive correlates of denture wearing in older community-dwelling adults.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between denture wearing and use of dental services, oral function limitations, and medical and cognitive status in a community-based cohort of rural older adults enrolled in an epidemiological study. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was part of a larger cohort study, the Monongahela Valley Independent Elders Survey. Dental data were collected during the fifth wave of assessments (10 years after the start of the study in 1987). SETTING: Monongahela Valley, a rural western Pennsylvania community. PARTICIPANTS: The 805 participants were English-speaking community-dwelling (noninstitutionalized) persons, aged 73 and older, with at least a sixth grade education. MEASUREMENTS: A questionnaire was used to collect data on denture-wearing status, oral function limitations, and recency of the last dental visit. Other data collected included demographics, self-rated health, medication usage, depression, cognitive status using the Mini-Mental State Examination, and self-reports of weight loss and appetite. RESULTS: There were 44.7% of participants who had full dentures. Those with complete dentures were more likely to complain of oral function limitation, report poor health status, and take prescription medications. Additionally, 93.6% of those with complete dentures had not seen a dentist in more than 1 year. CONCLUSION: Denture wearing and edentulism are common in older patients and can be related to poor quality of life and risk for undiagnosed oral disease and may be a marker for other medical comorbidities. Geriatricians need to include oral health status evaluations and understand that attention to the oral cavity should be part of an older adult's care.