Exploring recruitment, willingness to participate, and retention of low-SES women in stress and depression prevention

The process of recruitment, willingness to participate, and retention was structurally mapped and explored. Differences between women who dropped out and those who adhered to the subsequent stages of the recruitment and retention process were investigated. The potential of several referral strategies was also studied, with specific attention paid to the use of GP databases.As part of the recruitment process, 12.1% of the target population completed a telephone screening. The most successful referral strategy was the use of patient databases from GPs working in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Older age and more severe complaints were particularly associated with greater willingness to participate and with retention.Low-SES women can be recruited and retained in public health interventions through tailored strategies. The integration of mental health screening within primary care might help to embed preventive interventions in low-SES communities.Women with low socioeconomic status (SES) and those living in disadvantaged circumstances are at high risk for not only physical health problems, but also mental health problems like depression [1,2]. Although in recent years effective interventions have been developed for primary prevention of depression, low-SES women who are at high risk are often difficult to reach with preventive mental health services [3,4]. Further, they drop out of preventive interventions more frequently than their wealthier or more highly educated counterparts [5], resulting in low retention rates [6,7]. Recruitment, willingness to participate, and retention in interventions are indispensable for successfully reducing public health problems such as depression [8]. However, knowledge on which recruitment techniques are most effective for this population, or which characteristics of low-SES women are associated with their successful participation and retention in interventions is limited.The most common methods for intervention recruitment are self-refer