Tailored Recruitment Strategies among Transgender and Non-Transgender Veterans: Participants’ Perceptions and Response

Abstract

Primary data collection is imperative for understanding the health care experiences of transgender veterans to ensure equitable care. However, it is unclear how to best engage transgender individuals in research. This study’s objective was to explore how tailored language used in recruitment affects individuals’ response and perspectives about recruitment. We randomly assigned 300 veterans to receive either a general or tailored (i.e., included the word “transgender”) recruitment letter. Each type of letter was mailed to 50 cisgender men, 50 cisgender women, and 50 transgender individuals. Contact and response rates were calculated for each recruitment condition. We conducted interviews with respondents about reactions to the recruitment letter. Interviews were coded using rapid identification of themes from audio recordings. The contact rate for the general recruitment letter (28%) was higher than the tailored letter’s contact rate (19%), although not significantly different (p = .077). Interviews were completed with 17 cisgender men, 14 cisgender women, and 17 transgender women (Response Rate 2 = 16.6%). Few cisgender recipients of the tailored letter mentioned the transgender-specific language; most said the letter was clear/straightforward. Transgender participants appreciated the transgender-specific language. The results suggest that tailored recruitment materials may resonate with transgender participants without alienating cisgender participants.

Keywords:

• Transgender persons
• transgender veterans
• Veterans health
• qualitative research
• research
• recruitment
• health research

Acknowledgements

None

Disclosure statement

All manuscript authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest (i.e., financial and personal relationships between themselves and others that might bias their work).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a pilot research grant from VA CHERP Competitive Pilot Program (PI: Blosnich; XIP 72-013); and a VA Health Services Research and Development Career Development Award (PI: Blosnich; CDA-14-408).