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Bridging the Gap

Recruitment of African-American Women Into Mental Health Research Studies

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Abstract

Objective: To develop a strategy for recruiting African-American women into a research study for pregnant women. Methods: With few exceptions, NIH-funded investigators must include women and minorities in clinical research. The authors used the recommendations provided in the Outreach Notebook for the NIH Guidelines on Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research as a guide to help them reach out to African-American women in the community. Results and Conclusions: The outreach experience led to a conference for African-American women about mental health. On the basis of this experience, the authors formulated a five-pronged approach for recruitment of African-American women into their study. The NIH guidelines were useful for this purpose.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Mental HealthCARE, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Judith A. Meinert M.S.W., L.I.S.W. (Project Coordinator)

  2. Women’s Mental Health Program, NIMH, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Mary C. Blehar Ph.D. (Director)

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Thomas Jefferson University, 833 Chestnut Street, Suite 210-E, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA

    Kathleen S. Peindl Ph.D. (Research Associate Professor)

  4. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Angela Neal-Barnett Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Psychology)

  5. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Katherine L. Wisner M.D., M.S. (Professor of Psychiatry)

Authors
  1. Judith A. Meinert M.S.W., L.I.S.W.
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  2. Mary C. Blehar Ph.D.
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  3. Kathleen S. Peindl Ph.D.
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  4. Angela Neal-Barnett Ph.D.
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  5. Katherine L. Wisner M.D., M.S.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen S. Peindl Ph.D..

Additional information

The authors wish to thank all the members of the steering committee of the Soothe Your Soul conference for their hard and thoughtful work: Carla Harwell, M.D.; Minnie Bowers, M.D.; Yvonne Pointer-Triplett; Diane Goodrum; Ilinda Reese; Judy Meinert, L.I.S.W.; and Kathleen Peindl, Ph.D. They also thank Carl Bell, M.D., for his review of an earlier draft. This work was supported by NIMH Grant R01 MH60335 to Dr. Wisner. Material presented here does not necessarily reflect the opinions, official policy, or position of the National Institute of Mental Health.

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Meinert, J.A., Blehar, M.C., Peindl, K.S. et al. Bridging the Gap. Acad Psychiatry 27, 21–28 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.27.1.21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.27.1.21

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