{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]],"date-time":"2026-10-28T06:51:43Z","timestamp":1793170303500,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"0","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763510400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to widespread COVID-19 vaccine trials globally, with South Africa hosting many of these studies. Participant recruitment for these trials has been hindered by vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, distrust and pandemic-related restrictions.\nAim:\u00a0This study explored the experiences and perceptions of recruiters involved in COVID-19 vaccine trials in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, focusing on recruitment facilitators, barriers and strategies.\nSetting:\u00a0Six clinical trial sites in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal.\nMethods:\u00a0Using a qualitative phenomenological approach within an interpretive paradigm, researchers conducted in-depth online interviews via Microsoft Teams with 14 recruiters selected through non-probability purposive sampling. Field notes supplemented the interviews, and thematic analysis with open coding identified key themes.\nResults:\u00a0Analysis of recruiters\u2019 lived experiences revealed four main themes: (1) motivations driving participation, (2) barriers faced in the field, (3) strategies used to engage communities and facilitate enrolment and (4) recruiters\u2019 insights for improving future recruitment success.\nConclusion:\u00a0This study identified the difficulties recruiters faced in enrolling participants in COVID-19 vaccine trials in eThekwini, and the reasons why participants chose to take part. Insights from recruiters can inform strategies to strengthen participant recruitment in future clinical trials.\nContribution:\u00a0This research provides context-specific recommendations for improving recruitment during public health emergencies, with implications for future trials in similar settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v30i0.3123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T06:13:28Z","timestamp":1763446408000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Recruiters\u2019 lived experiences in COVID-19 vaccine trials in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6067-2646","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kumari","family":"Dewrance","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04qzfn040","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of KwaZulu-Natal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4842-602X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shenuka","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04qzfn040","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of KwaZulu-Natal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abdelhafiz, A.S., Abd ElHafeez, S., Khalil, M.A., Shahrouri, M., Alosaim, B., Salem, R.O. et al., 2021, \u2018Factors influencing participation in COVID-19 clinical trials: A multi-national study\u2019, Frontiers in Medicine 8, 608959. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmed.2021.608959","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2021.608959"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abu-Farha, R.K., Alzoubi, K.H. & Khabour, O.F., 2020, \u2018Public willingness to participate in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials: A study from Jordan\u2019, Patient Prefer Adherence 14, 2451. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2147\/PPA.S284385","DOI":"10.2147\/PPA.S284385"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ajzen, I., 1991, \u2018The theory of planned behavior. 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