A collaborative approach to the recruitment and retention of minority patients with diabetes in rural community health centers

Our collaborative approach was successful in recruiting and retaining ethnically diverse study participants who reside in a rural underserved area of South Carolina. Differences in baseline characteristics and retention by ethnicity and gender were found. Successful translational research must allow for a collaborative approach addressing factors at the level of the community health center, key personnel, and patients in an effort to build trust for the purpose of advancing the science of translating research to practice.