Response rates to an online sexual health survey among urban Federally Qualified Health Center patients were low using sequential multimodal virtual recruitment approaches, particularly among those without recent healthcare engagement.
The overall response rate to the sexual health survey was low at 20.8%.
The majority of survey participants were recruited using a single strategy (email only), with diminishing returns from each additional recruitment strategy.
Responders had received a more recent PrEP prescription compared with non-responders.
No significant demographic differences were observed between responders and non-responders.
Sequential multimodal virtual recruitment approaches were insufficient for adequately engaging urban Federally Qualified Health Center patients in sexual health research.
This research suggests that using a series of virtual contact methods — email, phone calls, and text messages — to recruit patients for an online sexual health survey resulted in a low response rate of about 21%. The study was conducted at community health centers serving predominantly Black and Latino patients who were prescribed PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV infection. Most people who did respond were reached through the very first contact method (email), and only a small additional number were brought in by follow-up phone calls and texts. One important finding was that people who had filled a PrEP prescription more recently were more likely to respond to the survey than those whose last prescription was longer ago. This suggests that staying connected to healthcare services plays a role in whether patients engage with research. Notably, there were no meaningful differences in age, gender, sexual identity, or race/ethnicity between those who responded and those who did not, which means the survey did not appear to systematically exclude any particular demographic group. This research matters because Black and Latino communities face higher rates of HIV but are often underrepresented in health research. The findings suggest that virtual-only recruitment strategies may not be sufficient to engage these communities effectively, especially those who are less actively connected to healthcare. The authors call for more innovative and accessible methods to include these populations in research, which is important for ensuring that health programs and policies are informed by the people they are meant to serve.
Datta D, Andrade E, Gomez B, Golub S, Beil R, Patel V. (2025). Sexual health survey recruitment approaches among patients in community health centers.. Sexual health. https://doi.org/10.1071/SH24168