I am planning to collect hair samples from patients for measurement of cortisol (up to a pencil thickness in diameter cut as close to the root as possible) but I am not sure how difficult it will be to get a young person to agree to this. Anyone who can comment on their experiences with hair sample collection will be much appreciated.
Have you contemplated contacting local barbers (well, hair designers nowadays).
Bribing with ice cream or candies is always an option... just a thought without any experience. ;)
It ought to work only if a single sample is needed.
The larger issue is parental/primary caregiver permission. With adolescents, if you can engage them in the importance of the research, they will be more interested in participating. Of course where the samples are taken is important. They also have to trust the researcher. As the "university nurse", I have a apriori trust level with the children I work with.
The more time you can spent in the "community" you will be recruiting from, the more successful you will be. Children tend to be distrustful of persons in labcoats and unfamiliar surroundings - home visits might be considered.
What is the population you are interested in? I work with children with head lice so I do not have trouble obtaining hair samples. I am interested in your experience measuring cortisol via hair samples.
@Shirley. Thank you for your advice. I should have added that I will be collecting from patients in a hospital setting. I have no experience with hair collection as yet although I hope to receive feedback from researchers who do.
Trust is definitely an important factor when dealing with young people. The information sheets we have written show the importance of our research project and the investigators involve both clinicians and researchers. Hair collection will be a secondary objective in my project, so although this will be optional, we hope that they will agree.
I will try look for before and after photos which will give them an idea of what the result may look like (and hopefully decrease - and not increase! - their anxiety).
@Tausif Thanks, I have thought about getting some test samples from my hairdresser. Although bribing is not ethical, "incentives" may be an option (that hopefully we will not have to resort to).
We performed a study (not yet published) which required hair sample collection. After explanation about proposes of the research, clarifying that it was not painful (as a conventional haircut) and would not affect the aesthetic, all children and adolescents agreed to the procedure.
Thanks Taciane, we have had positive experiences as well with our first few study recruits. Apologies I did not see your comment earlier. Kind regards, Mazen
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