Recruiting African-American research participation in the Jackson Heart Study: methods, response rates, and sample description.

OBJECTIVE The sampling and recruitment methods, response rate, and cohort description for the all-African-American Jackson Heart Study (JHS) are detailed. METHODS Four subsamples of participants residing in the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan statistical area (MSA) were included: random, volunteer, ARIC (continuing from Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study), and family. A community-driven recruitment model was developed, and community representatives guided recruitment. RESULTS 96% (n=5,302) of target enrollment was achieved with diversity in sex, education, and income. The JHS cohort provides a sample of African-American adults for longitudinal investigation. DISCUSSION Cohort recruitment was challenging. The JHS experiences provide useful lessons for observational epidemiological studies recruiting African-American research participation. Co-participation of researchers and researched in study design and realistic evidence of community benefit were crucial to recruitment success.