Recruiting participants remains one of the most important and challenging aspects of social work intervention research. Many studies focus on populations experiencing hardship or societal disadvantages, making it difficult to enroll eligible participants.  

The Autism Parent Navigators (APN) study published in Social Work Research provides insight into how recruitment strategies can improve participant enrollment and support successful clinical research. The insights came from a randomized controlled trial of a new program designed to support families of children recently diagnosed with autism.  

APN aimed to improve caregiver mental health, coparenting relationships, enhance parent-child interaction and teach families how to access autism-related services more effectively.  

“The bottom line is that recruitment works best when people who are trusted by potential participants—whether these are, for example, professionals or family members—provide information about and encouragement to join the study.”

 -Mark Feinberg, research professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center 

"The most challenging aspect of many intervention studies is recruitment, yet the practical strategies for recruitment are glossed over in published reports." Robert Hock, an associate professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina and first author of the study, said.  

Throughout the five-year study, researchers adapted their recruitment strategies. In the early stages of the pandemic, passive methods such as social media, flyers and online advertisements were used since in-person contact was limited. Over time, more active recruitment methods were implemented, such as hiring a recruitment consultant and a part-time recruitment coordinator.  

"The bottom line is that recruitment works best when people who are trusted by potential participants—whether these are, for example, professionals or family members—provide information about and encouragement to join the study," Mark Feinberg, the co-principal investigator of the APN study said. 

Feinberg developed the original Family Foundations program and worked with Dr. Hock to adapt the program for parents with children with autism. 

Early in the study, a statewide mailout distribution through the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs resulted in many interested families, but not a lot of eligible participants. Outreach and conference events increased awareness of the study, but few participants signed up.  

Over time, the researchers found that one of the most effective recruitment strategies was developing partnerships with professionals. Healthcare providers, nonprofits, early intervention programs and university researchers became valuable in garnering families' trust. 

"One of the most effective recruitment methods was cultivating relationships with a small number of service providers who acted as 'referral champions," Hock said. "In our case, this included diagnostic providers and parent support organizations. We took extra care to schedule meetings, provide recruitment updates, and create referral processes that fit into their existing service procedures." 

Another successful strategy involved offering free autism diagnostic evaluations to families whose children were suspected of having autism but did not have a formal diagnosis. Of the 71 families who received an evaluation through the study, 66 of them ultimately enrolled.  

"A second strategy was to offer diagnostic evaluations to children who screened positive for autism but could not yet get a diagnostic evaluation due to provider shortages and long waitlists," Hock said.  

“Social work intervention studies for co-parents are exceedingly rare, as are interventions targeted at children with autism. We hoped to provide guidance to other researchers designing similar studies.”

-Robert Hock, associate professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina

Eligible families were randomly assigned to a six-week peer mentor program or a parent-to-parent support control group. Finding families proved particularly challenging at first. The children had to be between the ages of 1.5 and 8 and have received an autism diagnosis within the previous 12 months. Recruitment began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the opportunities for face-to-face interactions with recruiters.  

"One challenge was convincing both caregivers to enroll and commit to the study. Most child-related information flows through one parent in a family. We found that providing study information to the other parent was a consistent challenge." Hock said. "Additionally, identifying young children with autism is challenging due to systemic barriers such as extremely long waitlists for diagnostic evaluations." 

Despite the challenges, the study enrolled 182 families, and had 891 families contact the research team, but were unable to continue with the study due to eligibility requirements.  

The APN study demonstrated that successful recruitment requires flexibility, continuous evaluation and community partners. Passive methods continue to raise awareness while active members rely on the trust of professional relationships. The study also showed that offering services, such as diagnostic evaluations, can meet both family needs and help improve recruitment outcomes.  

"Social work intervention studies for co-parents are exceedingly rare, as are interventions targeted at children with autism. We hoped to provide guidance to other researchers designing similar studies," Hock said.  

The study was co-authored by Robert Hock, associate professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina; Tamara Grimm, instructor in the College of Social  Work at the University of South Carolina; Abigail K. Jameson, doctoral student in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina; Mark Feinberg, research professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State. 

The study was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health of the National Institutes of Health.