Reaching Mental Health Research Participants with Multiple Stigmas; A Description of Strategies Used in a Depression Intervention Study  for YMSM of Color with HIV

Eric Houston; Chris Argueta; Jahmil Lacey; Sukrit Mukherjee; Kieran Breda-Hill

doi:10.21467/ajss.3.1.1-7

Authors

Eric Houston Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Chris Argueta Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jahmil Lacey Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sukrit Mukherjee Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Kieran Breda-Hill Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21467/ajss.3.1.1-7

Abstract

Research indicates that stigma serves as a barrier to the recruitment of participants into mental health intervention studies. Some participants, such as those for depression intervention studies that target people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), may face multiple sources of stigma. The purpose of this brief report was to describe recruitment strategies used during the initial months of an ongoing preliminary pilot study designed to develop a web-based intervention for young African American and Latino gay and bisexual men living with HIV who reported symptoms of depression. We employed four primary recruitment strategies to identify potential participants in the Los Angeles metropolitan area for the study. These strategies included social media, referrals, direct contact, and recruitment flyers. Preliminary data indicated that recruitment efforts generated 57 responses from potential participants during the first four months of recruitment and study implementation. The monthly response rate from potential participants represented slightly more than 71% of the study’s minimum level targeted for participant enrollment. Findings from this preliminary study are discussed in terms of the role of stigma as a barrier to mental health participant research recruitment. Implications for both depression research and clinical interventions are considered.

Keywords:

Depression, HIV, stigma, participant recruitment, mental health research

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ali, S., Stone, M., Peters, J., Davies, M., & Khunti, K. (2006). The prevalence of co-morbid depression in adults with Type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 1165–73.

Asch, S. M., Kilbourne, A. M., Gifford, A. L., Burnam, M. A., Turner, B., Shapiro, M. F., & Bozzette, S. A. (2003). Underdiagnosis of depression in HIV. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18, 450-460.

Bing, E.G., Burnam, M.A., Longshore, D., Fleishman, J.A., Sherbourne, C.D., London, A.S., Turner, B.J., Eggan, F., Beckman, R., Vitiello, B., Morton, S.C., Orlando, M., Bozzette, S.A., Ortiz-Barron, L., & Shapiro, M. (2001). Psychiatric disorders and drug use among human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults in the United States. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58, 721–728.

CDC (2017). HIV Surveillance Report, 2016, Vol. 28.

CDC (May 2012). HIV among gay and bisexual men

Du Bois S, Johnson S, Mustanski B. Examining racial and ethnic minority differences among YMSM during recruitment for an online HIV prevention intervention study (2012). AIDS and Behavior, 16(6), 1430-1435.

Earnshaw, V. A., Bogart, L. M., Dovidio, J. F., & Williams, D. R. (2013). Stigma and Racial/Ethnic HIV Disparities: Moving Toward Resilience. The American Psychologist, 68(4), 225–236.

Gunn, J., Ayton, D., Densley, K., Pallant, J., Chondros, P., Herrman, H., & Dowrick, C.F. (2010). The association between chronic illness, multimorbidity and depressive symptoms in an Australian primary care cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 175–84.

Guthrie, E.A., Dicken, C., Blakemore, A., Watson, J., Chew-Graham, C., Lovell, K., Afzal, C., Kapur, N., & Tomenson, B. (2016). Depression predicts future emergency hospital admissions in primary care patients with chronic physical illness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 82 , 54 – 61.

Holloway, I.W., Rice, E., Gibbs, J., Winetrobe, H., Dunlap, S., & Rhoades, H. (2013). Accessibility of smartphone application-based HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 18(2), 285-296.

Hughes-Morley, A., Young, B., Waheed, W., Small, N., & Bower, P. (2015).. Factors affecting recruitment into depression trials: Systematic review, meta-synthesis and conceptual framework. Journal of Affective Disorders, 172:274–90.

Kanuch, S. W., Cassidy, K. A., Dawson, N. V., Athey, M., Fuentes-Casiano, E., & Sajatovic, M. (2016). Recruiting and retaining individuals with serious mental illness and diabetes in clinical research: Lessons learned from a randomized, controlled trial. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 9(3), 115–126

Leonard, N. R., Ragan, S., Gwadz, M. V., & Aregbesola, T. (2014). HIV testing patterns among urban YMSM of color. Health Education & Behavior, 41(6), 673–681.

Loue, S., & Sajatovic M. (2008). Research with severely mentally ill Latinas: Successful recruitment and retention strategies. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 10(2),145–153.

Martinez, O., Wu, E., Shultz, A.Z., Capote, J., Rios, J.L., R.J, Sandfort ,T., Manusov, J., Ovejero, H., Carballo-Dieguez, A., Baray, S.C., Moya, E., Matos, J.L., DelaCruz, J.J., Remien, R.H., Rhodes, S.D. (2014). Still a hard-to-reach population? using social media to recruit Latino gay couples for an HIV intervention adaptation study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(4):e113.

Nichols, J.E., Speer, D., Watson, B., Watson, M., Vergon, T., Vallee, C., Meah, J. (2002). Aging with HIV: Psychological, Social, and Health Issues. Academic Press; San Diego.

Patel, M., Doku, V., & Tennakoon, L. (2003). Challenges in recruitment of research participants. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 9(3), 229-238.

Reece, M. (2003). HIV-related mental health care: Factors influencing dropout among low-income, HIV-positive individuals. AIDS Care, 15, 707-716.

Rutledge, S., Roffman, R., Picciano, J., Kalichman, S., & Berghuis, J. 2002. HIV prevention and attrition: Challenges and opportunities. AIDS and Behavior 6(1), 69-82.

Shippy, R. A., Mendez, D., Jones, K., Cergnul, I., & Karpiak, S. E. (2004). S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) for the treatment of depression in people living with HIV/AIDS. BMC Psychiatry, 4, 38.

Thompson, R.G., Auslander, W.F., & Alonzo, D. (2012). Individual-level predictors of nonparticipation and dropout in a life-skills HIV prevention program for adolescents in foster care. AIDS Education and Prevention, 24(3), 257-69 .

Wagner, G.J., Goggin, K., Remien, R.H., Rosen, M.I., Simoni, J., Bangsberg, D.R., Liu, H., & MACH14 Investigators (2011) A closer look at depression and its relationship to HIV antiretroviral adherence. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 42(3), 352–360.

Waheed, W., Hughes-Morley, A., Woodham, A., Allen, G., & Bower, P. (2015). Overcoming barriers to recruiting ethnic minorities to mental health research: a typology of recruitment strategies. BMC Psychiatry, 15, 101.

Woodford, J.F.P., Bessant, M., & Williams, C. (2011). Recruitment into a guided internet based CBT (iCBT) intervention for depression: Lesson learnt from the failure of a prevalence recruitment strategy. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 32, 641–8.