Digital Strategies for Recruitment to Improve Diversity and Inclusion in Prospective Cardiovascular Clinical Research.
INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular trials often underrepresent non-White participants, women, and older individuals. METHODS: We evaluated the impact of digital recruitment on improving diversity in two large prospective cardiovascular studies: the Apple Heart Study (AHS) and the Project Baseline Health Study (PBHS). While both leveraged digital tools, their strategies differed-AHS used a passive, app-based approach followed by a direct-to-participant outreach effort, while PBHS implemented an enrollment model to reach a prespecified diversity goal. RESULTS: While both methods led to a cohort of participants who were comparably aligned with the US Census, we found that intentional, goal-driven digital outreach, and participant selection targeting demographic representation improved inclusion of historically underrepresented groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that digital tools, when paired with intentional strategy, may help support more inclusive, representative cardiovascular research.
