Abstract A084: Enrollment rates among multiple recruitment strategies for ULACNet-101, a clinical-trial aimed at preventing HPV-related cancers for people living with HIV in Puerto Rico
Authors: Soto-Salgado Marievelisse , Bournigal-Feliciano Mariela , García-Camacho Sandra , Santiago-Marrero Michael A. , Aponte-Caraballo Frances , Palefsky Joel , Salmeron Jorge , Ortiz Ana Patricia 
Published: December 2023

OBJECTIVES: Persons living with HIV (PLWH) have a higher risk of HPV-associated cancers than people without HIV; countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have an excess risk of these malignancies. The California-Mexico-Puerto Rico (CAMPO) Consortium conducts clinical trials (CTs) to prevent HPV-related cancers among PLWH in Mexico and Puerto Rico (PR). We are currently recruiting participants for ULACNet-101, a CTs under CAMPO. CTs depend primarily on the successful recruitment and retention of study participants to provide valid and reliable outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the enrollment rates of the different recruitment strategies implemented for the enrollment of PLWH (n=1,400) in ULACNet-101 in PR. METHODS: We analyzed data from the pre-screening database containing demographic and clinical characteristics, and the mode of study recruitment of interested participants in ULACNet-101 in PR. Given the ambitious sample size proposed in PR and delays in patient recruitment that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, several approaches are being used for recruitment in PR, including passive (n=4) and active (n=4) strategies. Passive strategies involve (1) advertisements through printed flyers/banners, (2) TV/newspaper advertising, (3) social media promotion, and (4) word of mouth by friends/family/previous study participants. Active strategies include (1) on-site clinic promotion by research assistants, (2) outreach calls to participants of previous studies, (3) outreach activities, and (4) provider referrals. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: From November 16, 2021 to June 1, 2023, 888 potential participants have been pre-screened (65% male and 35% female; mean age 51 ± 13 years), and 721 were determined to be eligible for enrollment (81.2%; 27% female and 73% male). 294 (40.8%) of eligible participants have been enrolled. Preliminary analysis shows that more potential participants pre-screened were referred due to active strategies (76.8%) versus passive strategies (23.2%). On-site promotion by research assistants has led to referrals for almost half (44.9%) of all pre-screenings. However, the highest enrollment rate among eligible participants has been for outreach calls to participants from previous studies (65.2%), word of mouth (59.0%) and social media (53.6%). CONCLUSIONS: As of today, the best recruitment strategy for ULACNet-101 in the PR site has been on-site clinic promotion by research assistants, followed by provider referrals. However, these strategies have not been the most effective at the subsequent enrollment of participants into the study. Continued monitoring of recruitment strategies will be essential to determine the best allocation of available resources and achieve recruitment goals. Moreover, this information will be used to guide the implementation of other cancer-related CTs for PLWH in PR. FUNDING: This project was funded by NCI (Grants # U54CA242646 and 3U54CA242646-04S2), and supported by NIGMS (# U54GM133807), NIMHD (# 2U54MD007587), PR-CEAL (# 10T2HL161827), and PR Outreach Program (# U54CA096297).

Citation Format: Marievelisse Soto-Salgado, Mariela Bournigal-Feliciano, Sandra García-Camacho, Michael A. Santiago-Marrero, Frances Aponte-Caraballo, Joel Palefsky, Jorge Salmeron, Ana Patricia Ortiz. Enrollment rates among multiple recruitment strategies for ULACNet-101, a clinical-trial aimed at preventing HPV-related cancers for people living with HIV in Puerto Rico [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A084.