# Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2020 · $172,887

## Abstract

CLINICAL RESEARCH GROUP
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SHARED FACILITY (RRSF)
ABSTRACT
The Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility (RRSF) is an infrastructure designed to assist UAB-CCC
investigators recruit participants for clinical research. The facility: 1) provides diverse recruitment services
(developing recruitment strategies and materials; recruiting and scheduling subjects, etc.); 2) provides the
necessary linkage between CCC researchers and surrounding communities; 3) maintains information systems
with a Recruitment Data Base (RDB), a Recruitment Tracking System (RTS), a Health Profile System (HPS),
to identify subjects of interest to investigators; and 4) tracks and promotes retention through the Patient
Navigation System and the Recruitment Tracking system. Since 1997 the RRSF demonstrated success in
recruiting participants primarily for large population-based clinical trials. More than 24,000 participants were
recruited for more than 23 cancer studies; 32% of these participants were African American, and 78% were
women. Census data show that Alabama residents are 26.6% African American and 4% Hispanic. Hispanics
in Alabama are mainly young immigrants and have low incidence of cancer. Due to these factors, the RRSF
decided to focus recruitment efforts on one of our minority populations. The RRSF continues to recruit for
population-based studies, but has decided to address the needs of UAB-CCC investigators and focus on
piloting new strategies to recruit participants for therapeutic clinical trials. A model program was implemented
entitled, Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials through Patient Navigation (IMPaCT-PN). IMPaCT-
PN, which aims to provide equal access to clinical trials for low-resource and African American patients by
helping them overcome barriers to participation and navigate the healthcare system. In 2009, the NIMHD
awarded UAB a U24 grant to create a National Comprehensive Cancer Centers Consortium to implement and
evaluate new strategies to enhance minority enrollment in clinical research with a main focus on patient
navigation. UAB serves as the lead institution providing training to implement the IMPaCT Patient Navigation
Program at the cancer centers of University of Minnesota, University of Texas-MD Anderson, Johns Hopkins
University, and the University of California-Davis. RRSF is a unique shared facility that provides a centralized
infrastructure, databases, and staff with recruitment expertise so investigators do not have to build recruitment
teams for each new study.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9895654
- **Project number:** 5P30CA013148-48
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** MONA N. FOUAD
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $172,887
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9895654

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9895654, Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility (5P30CA013148-48). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9895654. Licensed CC0.

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