Background:
Due to the sensitive nature of sexually transmitted diseases, recruitment for STD research is often a difficult challenge. This presentation examines six strategies used for recruiting college students as part of a research study looking at the impact of HSV testing on asymptomatic college students.

Objective:
The objectives of this presentation are to explore different recruitment strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of each one as they relate to the recruitment of college students for HSV-2 testing. A final objective is to provide recommendations for recruitment in similar studies and clinical practices.

Method:
Six strategies were used to locate and recruit college students for study participation. These included announcements through email/listservs; class announcements; posting fliers around campus; fliers and practitioner referrals from the student healthcare center; advertisements in campus newspapers, and word of mouth.

Result:
A total of n=66 college students were recruited for participation in the study. Recruitment efforts conducted at the student healthcare center yielded the highest number of participants (n=23; 34.8%). Other methods that worked well included email/listservs (n=17; 25.7%) and class announcements (n=14; 21.2%). 10.6% (n=7) of students were recruited by word-of-mouth and 7.6% (n=5) by fliers around campus. No students were recruited by advertisements in campus newspapers.

Conclusion:
Findings indicate that a significant strategy for recruiting college students involves targeting places where students may seek health care information. Other effective strategies include those that provide information on a more individual basis such as emails and class announcements.

Implications:
Understanding effective recruitment strategies is an important component of STD research. The information provided in this presentation can be used by similar studies and programs to better direct recruitment efforts and conserve limited resources.