# Recruitment, Engagement, and Community Health (REACH) Research Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $243,888

## Abstract

Project Summary
Recruitment is among the top challenges that investigators report and are one of the most common reasons
why research studies and clinical trials fail. Poor external validity is also a significant limitation of much of the
available clinical research and contributes to both the difficulties replicating research findings across settings
and the persistently wide gap between research and practice. Moreover, racial/ethnic minority individuals have
been historically underrepresented in research on both substance use and chronic disease, despite being
overrepresented in these conditions. As a result, pertinent findings drawn from the available literature may not
be relevant for these groups, resulting in greater health disparities, increased healthcare costs for minority
individuals and the broader system, and increased medical mistrust among minority groups and the greater
public. Addressing each of these challenges requires deliberate, explicit efforts and the assistance of
experienced, culturally-competent staff to reach and engage more diverse and representative participants
more efficiently. It also requires investigators to incorporate more diverse and modern recruitment methods
that meet participants where they are, including both in-person relationship-building and online marketing.
However, effectively using these strategies is often beyond the skillsets of early stage investigators (ESI) and
basic research staff. To help ESI access this expertise and address these challenges, we propose the creation
of a new Recruitment, Engagement, and Community Health (REACH) Research Core in Phase II. The overall
goal of the REACH Core will be to provide inclusive, end-to-end support for both in-person and online
recruitment that helps CADRE and affiliated investigators meet their enrollment and inclusion milestones. For
each investigator requesting services, REACH personnel will engage in a discovery process to understand
individual study needs and develop a detailed strategy and budget. The Core’s Community Outreach
Coordinator will lead elements of proposed strategies that incorporate in-person outreach, and the Digital
Marketing Services Coordinator will lead those involving online outreach. Once a strategy is devised, Core
personnel will implement the proposed strategy, monitor its performance over time, and work with investigators
to ensure it is effectively meeting enrollment and inclusion goals. To build further capacity for community
engaged research, the Core will also: develop and manage a community advisory board (CAB) relevant to
substance use and chronic disease that will be available to CADRE ESIs, develop resources to accelerate new
partnerships with community organizations and clinics, and conduct active outreach with community
organizations to build a registry of prospective participants in Rhode Island from underserved groups.
Together, we believe these steps will contribute real value for ESI, the science they produce, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849986
- **Project number:** 2P20GM130414-06
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tyler Blake Wray
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $243,888
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849986

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849986, Recruitment, Engagement, and Community Health (REACH) Research Core (2P20GM130414-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849986. Licensed CC0.

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