Engaging Community Health Care Providers in Genomic Research

The purpose of this presentation/poster is to describe the process of working in partnership with the hospital, physicians, and their staff to recruit participants for perinatal and neonatal whole‐genome research. We will share the challenges in placing the right clinical research staff in the office or unit, staff preparation and education, and the tools necessary to support our study. We made specific efforts to recruit subjects of diverse race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. To do this, we hired a multicultural staff of clinical research coordinators and associates to recruit subjects. We provided enrollment materials in English and Spanish as well as at average‐reading and low‐reading levels. We placed an emphasis on creating partnerships with hospital and community health care providers to be able to approach their patients for our studies. Our Translational Medicine Institute enrolled more than 1,200 family trios from more than 70 countries in three whole‐genome research studies. Recruitment for the preterm birth study required our team to join forces with multicultural health care providers from neonatology, obstetrics, perinatology, and a richly diverse nursing staff. Enrollment for the longitudinal study occurs during the pregnancy, which requires our staff to approach patients in the prenatal care setting. We are currently recruiting from several large obstetric practices, including a safety‐net community clinic. Knowing the community, the health care providers, and the staff at the offices and hospital will enhance the ability of nurse researchers to recruit participants in their studies.