Recruitment of hard-to-reach population subgroups via adaptations of the snowball sampling strategy.

Nurse researchers and educators often engage in outreach to narrowly defined populations. This article offers examples of how variations on the snowball sampling recruitment strategy can be applied in the creation of culturally appropriate, community-based information dissemination efforts related to recruitment to health education programs and research studies. Examples from the primary author's program of research are provided to demonstrate how adaptations of snowball sampling can be used effectively in the recruitment of members of traditionally underserved or vulnerable populations. The adaptation of snowball sampling techniques, as described in this article, helped the authors to gain access to each of the more-vulnerable population groups of interest. The use of culturally sensitive recruitment strategies is both appropriate and effective in enlisting the involvement of members of vulnerable populations. Adaptations of snowball sampling strategies should be considered when recruiting participants for education programs or for research studies when the recruitment of a population-based sample is not essential.

The impact of cervical cancer education for deaf women using a video educational tool employing American sign language, open captioning, and graphics.

BACKGROUND: Deaf women encounter barriers to accessing cancer information. In this study, we evaluated whether deaf women's knowledge could be increased by viewing a graphically enriched, American Sign Language (ASL) cervical cancer education video. METHODS: A blind, randomized trial evaluated knowledge gain and retention. Deaf women (n = 130) completed questionnaires before, after, and 2 months after viewing the video. RESULTS: With only a single viewing of the in-depth video, the experimental group gained and retained significantly more cancer knowledge than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Giving deaf women access to the ASL cervical cancer education video (http://cancer.ucsd.edu/deafinfo) significantly increased their knowledge of cervical cancer.

Cutting edge: down-regulation of MHC class I-related chain A on tumor cells by IFN-gamma-induced microRNA.

NKG2D is a receptor used by NK cells to detect virally infected and transformed cells. It recognizes ligands that are expressed constitutively on primary tumors and tumor cell lines. In this report, we have identified four microRNAs (miRNAs) that each was sufficient to reduce the expression of the NKG2D ligand MHC class I-related chain A (MICA). One of these miRNAs (miR-520b) was induced by IFN-gamma, leading to a reduction in MICA surface protein levels. Interestingly, miR-520b acted on both the MICA 3'-untranslated region and the promoter region and caused a decrease in the levels of MICA transcript. In contrast, an antisense oligonucleotide inhibitor of miR-520b increased the expression of a reporter construct containing the MICA 3'-untranslated region but not the MICA promoter region. These findings demonstrate the novel regulation of an NKG2D ligand by an endogenous microRNA that is itself induced by IFN-gamma.