Introduction: The Latino population in the US is rapidly growing and faces profound health disparities; however, engagement of Latinos in biomedical research remains low. Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership has recruited 2,083 Spanish-speaking Latinos into 21 studies over 15 years. We sought to identify and describe the strategies we have used to successfully recruit and retain Spanish-speaking Latinos in research.
Methods: We abstracted and analyzed data from archived study notes, progress reports, team meeting minutes, and in-depth interviews conducted annually from CBPR partnership members. We used a nominal group process to refine and prioritize strategies.
Results: Overall, 13 recruitment strategies and 12 retention strategies emerged. These strategies relied on the creativity and perseverance of the study team and partners.
Conclusions: It is essential that we develop and disseminate effective recruitment and retention strategies that engage Latinos in biomedical research to reduce health disparities and promote health equity.
Keywords: CBPR; Hispanic/Latino; community-based participatory research; engagement; health disparities; interview; recruitment; retention.