CLINICAL RESEARCH GROUP RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SHARED FACILITY (RRSF) ABSTRACT The Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility (RRSF) is an infrastructure designed to assist UAB-CCC investigators recruit participants for clinical research. The facility: 1) provides diverse recruitment services (developing recruitment strategies and materials; recruiting and scheduling subjects, etc.); 2) provides the necessary linkage between CCC researchers and surrounding communities; 3) maintains information systems with a Recruitment Data Base (RDB), a Recruitment Tracking System (RTS), a Health Profile System (HPS), to identify subjects of interest to investigators; and 4) tracks and promotes retention through the Patient Navigation System and the Recruitment Tracking system. Since 1997 the RRSF demonstrated success in recruiting participants primarily for large population-based clinical trials. More than 24,000 participants were recruited for more than 23 cancer studies; 32% of these participants were African American, and 78% were women. Census data show that Alabama residents are 26.6% African American and 4% Hispanic. Hispanics in Alabama are mainly young immigrants and have low incidence of cancer. Due to these factors, the RRSF decided to focus recruitment efforts on one of our minority populations. The RRSF continues to recruit for population-based studies, but has decided to address the needs of UAB-CCC investigators and focus on piloting new strategies to recruit participants for therapeutic clinical trials. A model program was implemented entitled, Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials through Patient Navigation (IMPaCT-PN). IMPaCT- PN, which aims to provide equal access to clinical trials for low-resource and African American patients by helping them overcome barriers to participation and navigate the healthcare system. In 2009, the NIMHD awarded UAB a U24 grant to create a National Comprehensive Cancer Centers Consortium to implement and evaluate new strategies to enhance minority enrollment in clinical research with a main focus on patient navigation. UAB serves as the lead institution providing training to implement the IMPaCT Patient Navigation Program at the cancer centers of University of Minnesota, University of Texas-MD Anderson, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California-Davis. RRSF is a unique shared facility that provides a centralized infrastructure, databases, and staff with recruitment expertise so investigators do not have to build recruitment teams for each new study.
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