Using Panel Vendors to Recruit Research Participants

Using Panel Vendors to Recruit Research Participants

It has become more common to recruit research study participants through online panel vendors, such as GfK or Qualtrics. In a publication made available recently in PubMed Central from Evaluation and the Health Professions, Dr. Meme Wang-Schweig from the Prevention Research Center at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and her coauthors (including Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel), report on the use of panel vendors for recruiting research participants into a randomized controlled trial. The research study was testing an online, family-based alcohol prevention program for parents and older teens, called Smart Choices 4 Teens.

Panel vendors are hired to recruit and match potential research participants to a target population for data collection.  Most panel vendors use non-probability sampling which does not involve random selection. People opt in to participate. The vendors advertise for panelists using website banner ads, emails, direct mail, etc. Panelists are paid but may also enjoy contributing their opinions to a research study. Panel vendors can recruit a potential research sample quickly.

Dr. Wang-Schweig’s paper endeavors to answer two methodological questions: (1) how well do panel vendors provide a sample of families to participate in a trial who meet specific inclusion criteria, and (2) how well do panel vendors provide a sample of families to participate in a trial who reflect the make-up of the general population? Using the Smart Choice 4 Teens project’s experience as a real-world example, the authors describe the process of working with panel vendors, the sample’s match to the intended target population, and the additional screening they employed to ensure the quality of the sample. Several recommendations are made for other research teams looking to use panel vendors to recruit study participants.

Smart Choice 4 Teens was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA020977; Dr. Brenda Miller, PIRE, Principal Investigator). Dr. Wang-Schweig’s coauthors for this publication included Dr. Brenda Miller, Dr. Hilary Byrnes, Dr. Beth Bourdeau, and Ms. Veronica Rogers from PIRE; and Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel.

The Importance of Managers’ Awareness of Sun Protection Policy

The Importance of Managers’ Awareness of Sun Protection Policy

Improving occupational sun protection is a priority in the United States, as The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer highlights. Klein Buendel and its collaborators responded to the call by launching a randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace sun protection program for outdoor workers. The program, Sun Safe Workplaces, was implemented with 98 public employers in Colorado, a state with high ultraviolet radiation due to its high elevation and sunny climate. The intervention promoted the adoption or strengthening of sun safety policy and the implementation of employee sun protection training. A two-year follow-up study also was completed with 68 of the 98 public sector employers.

In a recent publication in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, and her coauthors reported results related to the hypothesis that senior managers’ awareness of sun protection policy in the workplace would predict increased sun safety practices by employers and employees who work outdoors.

A full description of the methods (questionnaires and on-site observations), results, conclusions, and limitations of the research can be found in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine publication. In general, more sun safety messages, manager-employee communication, sun safety practices, and sun protection equipment (sunscreen, hats, etc. ) were evident when senior managers were more aware of their organization’s sun protection policy.

Overall, the authors found that occupational sun protection programs can be more effective on the “front line” (with people who work outdoors) when the “back office” (senior management) is aware of and can, therefore, support and encourage their organization’s sun safety policies and practices.

This analysis was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (CA134705; Dr. David Buller and Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Principal Investigators). Dr. Walkosz’s coauthors on this paper included Dr. David Buller, Ms. Mary Buller, and Ms. Xia (Lucia) Liu from Klein Buendel, and Dr. Allan Wallis from the University of Colorado Denver.

Train To Tend Licensed to Avid Will LLC

Train To Tend Licensed to Avid Will LLC

Klein Buendel has licensed its online responsible vendor training program for recreational marijuana stores, Train To Tend®, to Avid Will LLC for sales and marketing. Senior Scientists, Dr. David Buller and Dr. W. Gill Woodall, and their collaborators created Train To Tend to provide retail staff with knowledge and skills to sell recreational marijuana responsibly in an effort to keep their communities safe. Avid Will LLC will make Train to Tend available immediately to retail recreational marijuana stores in Colorado. State-specific versions for Oregon, Washington State, Massachusetts, and California will be launched this year, as well.

In 2017 and 2018, Train To Tend was tested using a random sample of state-licensed recreational marijuana stores (n=225) in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State. One hundred twenty-five stores were randomly selected to receive the Train To Tend training while the remaining stores received the usual and customary training in their state. Post-training surveys were administered to Train To Tend trainees to gauge their perceptions of self-efficacy toward responsible vending practices, as well as their ratings of usability for Train To Tend.

The training improved trainees’ ability to check IDs, and their confidence in using their state’s inventory tracking system and identifying intoxicated customers. Trainees rated the training as user-friendly and thought that the information and skills learned in the training would help keep their communities safe. In a recent review, Danielle, an Instructional Designer for Native Roots, a Colorado retail chain, said “Train To Tend has been effective and engaging for our employees, and we are thankful for the Train To Tend team and their online responsible vendor program.”

The development and evaluation of Train to Tend was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (DA038933; Dr. David Buller, Principal Investigator). Additional scientific collaborators include Dr. W. Gill Woodall from Klein Buendel and Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in California.

Collaborator Spotlight:
Dr. Christopher Houck

Collaborator Spotlight:
Dr. Christopher Houck

Christopher Houck, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Human Behavior departments at Brown University. He currently works with Dr. Valerie Myers on a project titled, “An Emotion Regulation Intervention for Early Adolescent Risk Behavior Prevention” which is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (HD089979).

The program, Project Trac, originally geared toward educating adolescents on sexual health, was proven effective at targeting emotional regulation and reducing sexual risk among middle schoolers and high schoolers. Through tablet-based gaming, the current intervention focuses on teaching adolescents’ skills for managing their emotions to reduce poor decision-making that can lead to engaging in a variety of risky behaviors, like substance use or fighting. The overall goal of the current study is to provide an engaging, digital format to deliver the effective emotional regulation program; delivering the intervention through this technology reduces implementation costs and allows for flexibility in order to reach a wider audience.

Dr. Houck has also collaborated with Klein Buendel as a Co-Investigator on a project funded by the National Institute of Justice titled “Partner Violence Prevention for Middle School Boys: A Dyadic Web-Based Intervention” (2014-MU-CX-4002). The aim of the study was to develop a web-based intervention to reduce the risk of dating violence among middle-school aged males. The engaging, web-based intervention, to be used by parents and adolescents together, was based on the large empirical literature linking emotion regulation deficits to violent behavior as well as numerous studies showing that parental involvement is crucial to offset dating violence risk. The results from the pilot-testing were promising and a larger randomized controlled trial will begin in the fall.

In addition to adolescent emotional regulation and risky behaviors research, Dr. Houck is a licensed psychologist and provides services to children and adolescents at Rhode Island Hospital in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He works with patients affected by family illness and dealing with both psychological and medical problems. Dr. Houck completed his postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at Brown University in Rhode Island. He received the Psychology Research Mentor Awards from the Alpert Medical School at Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior in 2017. In addition to his work at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, he is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

Computer-based Learning for End-of-Life Care in Prisons

Computer-based Learning for End-of-Life Care in Prisons

In a recent publication in the Journal of Forensic Nursing, authors from The Pennsylvania State University and Klein Buendel describe, in detail, the design and development of a computer-based learning program for geriatric and end-of-life (EOL) care for incarcerated people. The program, called Enhancing Care for the Aged and Dying in Prison (ECAD-P), was funded by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging.

Content creation was based on the Phase I Principal Investigators’ paper-based EOL Toolkit. The systematic design and development of the training program was guided by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Framework for Going to Full Scale. The Journal of Forensic Nursing paper describes the painstaking processes of designing a program logo, recording video testimonials, creating graphic novels, incorporating visually-stimulating images, confirming reading level, and programming the functionality of the media-rich, interactive computer-based training program. The final ECAD-P program has six modules which take approximately 2.5 hours to complete in one or more sessions.

The STTR Phase I and Phase II projects were funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (AG049570). The Phase I Multiple Principal Investigators, Dr. Janice Penrod and Dr. Susan Loeb, are from The Pennsylvania State University. The Phase II Multiple Principal Investigators, Dr. Susan Loeb and Dr. Valerie Myers, are from The Pennsylvania State University and Klein Buendel, respectively. Other paper coauthors include Rachel Wion from The Pennsylvania State University, Tiffany Jerrod from Klein Buendel, and Sophia Strickfaden from Johnson & Wales University. ECAD-P was programmed by the Creative Team at Klein Buendel.

Physical Activity Maintenance in African American Men

Physical Activity Maintenance in African American Men

In a recent publication in mHealth, Dr. Robert Newton, Dr. Valerie Myers, and their coauthors describe the development of a smartphone app to help African American men maintain physical activity. The formative research was funded by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

African American men experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality from several chronic diseases that have low physical activity as a modifiable risk factor. For example, increased levels of physical activity have been shown to reduce the risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Yet, African American men’s levels of regular physical activity remain low.

The study set out to develop and test the feasibility of a prototype smartphone app to promote physical activity maintenance in African American men. The publication describes formative research (focus groups), user-centered design, and evaluation (usability testing and one-month beta testing) of the MobileMen app through an iterative process with participants from the target population.

MobileMen and its learning activities were designed with a Social Cognitive Theory framework. The programmed app included a dashboard, learning activities, a prompting system, an activity tracker, and rewards.

Users reported above average satisfaction with the app. They also rated the app as user-friendly, helpful, enjoyable, and culturally relevant. The participants reported willingness to use the app to improve their physical activity. Rates of app use and other data are reported in the paper. A full description of the methods, results, conclusions, strengths, and limitations of the feasibility study, as well as a discussion on the inclusion of nutrition information, can be found in the mHealth publication.

The STTR Phase I project was funded by grant number MD010304 (Dr. Robert Newton, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Principal Investigator). Coauthors include Dr. Valerie Myers and Tiffany Jerrod from Klein Buendel, Leah Carter and Jessica Romain from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Dr. Derek Griffith from Vanderbilt University.

Alcohol Sale Refusals to Pseudo-Intoxicated Patrons In Primarily Spanish-Speaking Premises

Alcohol Sale Refusals to Pseudo-Intoxicated Patrons In Primarily Spanish-Speaking Premises

Klein Buendel Senior Scientist Dr. W. Gill Woodall presented data on alcohol over-service from the WayToServe-Español project on a panel discussion at the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 22-26, 2019.

The over-service of alcohol to individuals who show signs of intoxication is problematic for public health because it contributes to drunk driving and alcohol-related injury and death. In addition, little is known about alcohol over-service in premises where business is conducted primarily in Spanish because these alcohol service situations have been understudied.

Dr. Woodall presented data from a baseline assessment of a randomized trial that investigated Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training in predominately Spanish-speaking premises in Texas and New Mexico. The research provides a unique opportunity to contrast two states and communities with similar populations, but different alcohol policies and practices.

Hispanic confederates were trained to enact evidence-based signs of intoxication while attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage in Spanish. Over-service was measured using a pseudo-intoxicated patron protocol. Baseline refusal rates were 12% in Texas and 34% in New Mexico. On the panel, Dr. Woodall discussed the implications of these baseline data for RBS training in minority communities and alcohol policy.

This research is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (MD010405; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Klein Buendel, Principal Investigator). Collaborating co-authors on the presentation included Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel, Dr. Victoria Sanchez and Dr. Randall Starling from the University of New Mexico, and Dr. Areli Chacon Silva and Dr. Frank Perez from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Parenting Now Launch

Parenting Now Launch

Klein Buendel, Inc. is collaborating with Dr. Michael Hecht and his team at REAL Prevention LLC on a new research project to develop and evaluate Parenting Now, a digitized adaptation of Dr. Robert Turrisi’s parent-based teen alcohol prevention program, the Parent Handbook. The Parent Handbook is one of only two family-based interventions recommended in FACING ADDICTION IN AMERICA: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health.

In this new study, the hard copy/pdf-formatted Parent Handbook, which targets parents of college-bound youth, is being adapted for parents of high school-aged children and being programmed for interactive technology-based delivery. “Parenting Now will give parents in the digital age access to content on the go and at convenient intervals through their multiple and mobile devices,” explained Dr. Michael Hecht, the Parenting Now Project’s Principal Investigator.

The Phase II SBIR research team is (1) developing core Parenting Now modules to address essential topics such as improving communication and parent permissiveness toward adolescent drinking, (2) customizing additional topics to parents’ specific interests, and (3) personalizing the program to parents’ communication styles. “Having both core modules and optional content will allow parents to customize or click through the curriculum, a feature of digital information that makes it more engaging,” said Dr. Hecht. “Parenting Now will personalize the skills to match the parent’s existing communication style, a key feature of engaging technology.”

The research project will conduct a rigorous randomized controlled trial using a nationally-representative sample through GfK Global and an active control condition. The study is evaluating Parenting Now’s effects on youth alcohol use and other substance use (marijuana use, nicotine use, and their combined use with alcohol). Researchers are examining the process of how Parenting Now influences parents’ behaviors and how these in turn influence students’ behaviors.

The Parenting Now Project is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA025293; Dr. Michael Hecht, REAL Prevention, Principal Investigator). Research collaborators include Dr. Anne Ray from Rutgers University and Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel. Klein Buendel’s Creative Team is building the latest version of Parenting Now, expanding on the prototype they developed for the companion Phase I SBIR project.

Refusal of Pseudo-intoxicated Customers at Retail Marijuana Stores

Refusal of Pseudo-intoxicated Customers at Retail Marijuana Stores

Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, Dr. David Buller presented a poster at the Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California in May. The poster presented insights on whether personnel in recreational marijuana stores refuse sales to buyers who appear to be intoxicated.

Recreational marijuana is sold by state-licensed stores in seven U.S. states. Like alcohol, sales are prohibited to persons younger than age 21 and sometimes to persons who are apparently intoxicated. A sample of 150 licensed retail stores in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington were selected from state regulatory agency lists. A majority of stores sold both recreational and medical marijuana. The sample was stratified between the largest metropolitan area in each state (Denver, Portland, and Seattle) and nearby regions with smaller cities.

Pseudo-patron assessment teams comprised of a ‘buyer’ and an ‘observer’, visited each store once from August to October 2018. Buyers attempted to enter the premises while feigning obvious signs of intoxication (for example: slurred speech, stumbling, dropped change or ID) and attempted to purchase a low-cost cannabis product. Observers recorded whether buyers gained entry and if the clerk offered to sell marijuana (no actual purchases were made).

Refusal rates were rare. Overall, refusal rates were slightly higher in the states of Colorado and Oregon than in Washington. A state law that explicitly prohibited sales in Oregon may have slightly decreased sales there, while refusals in Colorado may be attributed to the wide-scale use of security guards checking IDs at entrances. These high rates of sales to apparently intoxicated customers are a cause for concern, especially in light of research indicating that the combination of alcohol and marijuana intoxication appears to severely impair driver performance.

This research project is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (DA038933; Dr. David Buller, Principal Investigator). Additional collaborators include Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Oakland, California; and Dr. Gill Woodall and Andrew Grayson from Klein Buendel.

Nightlife Risk from Alcohol and Drug Use

Nightlife Risk from Alcohol and Drug Use

Two Klein Buendel researchers are part of a team that presented two posters at the Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting in San Francisco in May. Dr. David Buller and Julia Berteletti are part of the Nightlife Safety Plans research team led by Dr. Brenda Miller from the Prevention Research Center at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).

Nightclubs are high-risk settings for overuse of alcohol and other drugs and physical and sexual aggression among young adults. Nightlife Safety Plans (NSP) is a group-based, tablet app-delivered intervention designed for patrons arriving together. NSP addresses these unwanted outcomes and encourages social groups to recognize early indicators of risk. Actions steps are provided via tablet app to de-escalate the situation. 

Nightclub Group Gender Composition

The first poster examined the influence of social group gender composition on alcohol outcomes and on the effectiveness of the NSP intervention across different group compositions (all-female, all-male, mixed gender). The sample included 959 nightclub patrons who formed 359 groups recruited from seven clubs, across 41 different events. Less than half of the participants were female and the average age was 26. All data was collected anonymously.

Outcome variables included overall number of the group’s safety actions taken to keep group members safe, the highest number of safety actions by any single group member, and breath alcohol concentration (BAC) at exit.  Mixed model regressions examined the main effect of group composition and its interaction with the intervention as a predictor of outcomes after controlling for individual and group characteristics. Those in the intervention condition reported higher numbers of safety actions by any single member in all female groups and mixed gender groups, but not in all-male groups. There were no significant interactions for intervention status by group composition for either BAC at exit or the number of group actions taken as assessed by the overall group.  This poster was first-authored and presented by Dr. Brenda Miller from PIRE.

Drinking Group Cohesion

The second poster examined the hypothesis that club patrons who perceive greater cohesion in their group implement fewer protective strategies and use higher levels of alcohol and other drugs. Could being part of a more cohesive peer drinking group lead to a false sense of security and letting down one’s guard, which could lead to more risk taking? The sample included 815 nightclub patrons in the San Francisco area, arriving in 324 distinct groups, from seven clubs hosting electronic music dance events across 30 different evenings. Less than half of the participants were female and the average age was 27. Club patrons were surveyed anonymously and completed breath tests as they entered and exited clubs. Oral fluid samples at exit assessed drug use.

Patrons reported perceived cohesion with their group members (for example, people in the group are willing to help each other), as well as use of actions to keep oneself safe, actions to keep group members safe, and actions in response to group alcohol and other drug problems. Mixed model regressions examined group cohesion as a predictor after controlling for individual and group characteristics, and past 30-day drinking/drug use at clubs. Findings partially confirm the hypothesis. Patrons who perceived greater group cohesion engaged in fewer preventive strategies to keep themselves and their group safe during the night and those who perceived greater group cohesion implemented fewer actions in response to group AOD problems. This poster was first-authored and presented by Dr. Hilary Byrnes from PIRE.

The NSP research is funded by a grant to the Prevention Research Center at PIRE from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA022331; Dr. Brenda Miller, Principal Investigator). Research team collaborators/authors include Dr. Brenda Miller, Dr. Hilary Byrnes, Dr. Joel Grube, and Dr. Beth Bourdeau, Dr. Mark Johnson, and Veronica Rogers from PIRE; and Dr. David Buller and Julia Berteletti from Klein Buendel. The NSP tablet app was developed by Klein Buendel’s Creative Team.