Identifying barriers and facilitators to developing healthcare professional‐centered recruitment strategies to increase ADRD biomarker research participation: A qualitative study

Abstract Introduction Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are a critical referral source for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) biomarker research. There is a need to better understand their attitudes about ADRD biomarker research to develop scalable HCP‐centered referral strategies. Methods We approached 20 HCPs using purposive and snowball sampling, conducted 14 semi‐structured interviews to assess HCP attitudes toward ADRD biomarker research, and analyzed the data using thematic analysis to understand their perceptions about ADRD biomarker research and barriers to referring their patients to research. Results Key themes which emerged from HCP interviews included: HCPs perceived that both they and their patients experience various barriers to research participation. Despite these challenges, HCPs perceive value in research outcomes, are interested in making patient referrals, and seek collaboration with researchers. Discussion Future directions to develop HCP‐centered referral strategies include creating HCP‐centered educational and recruitment materials about the value of ADRD biomarker research and recruitment workflows tailored to their practice settings.