Table 3. Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) Characteristics, Reported Difficulty Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Patient Population in Research, and Experience With Community Engagement Strategies (N = 68)

PBRN Characteristics	No.	%
PBRN age (years)
<5	17	25.0
5–10	23	33.8
≥10	28	41.2
How many publications does your PBRN have? (n)
0 (newly established)	11	16.2
1–3	8	11.8
4–10	22	32.4
>10	27	39.7
How many grants does your PBRN have? (n)
0 (newly started, no extramural grants)	6	8.8
1–3	18	26.5
4–10	20	29.4
>10	24	35.3
Geographic population served
Urban only	21	30.9
Rural only	7	10.3
Both rural and urban	40	58.8
Racial communities specifically targeted for research in the past 5 years^*
None	12	17.6
Black or African American	39	57.4
Hispanic or Latino	38	55.9
Asian	10	14.7
Some other race/ethnicity	17	25.0
How difficult is it to recruit from diverse racial/ethnic communities?
Not difficult	13	19.1
Somewhat difficult	26	38.2
Difficult	12	17.6
Very difficult	12	17.6
Don't know/not applicable	5	7.4
How difficult is it to retain participants from diverse racial/ethnic communities through the duration of the research project?
Not difficult	9	13.2
Somewhat difficult	32	47.1
Difficult	8	11.8
Very difficult	7	10.3
Don't know/not applicable	12	17.6
Special populations specifically targeted for research participation^*^†
None	15	22.1
Rural	26	38.2
Inner city	27	39.7
Low income	36	52.9
Minority	36	52.9
Underserved populations	39	57.4
Other (urban, LGBT, seniors, children)	7	10.3
PBRN has a community advisory board	20	29.4
PBRN is affiliated with a university^†	37	54.4
PBRN is affiliated with a Clinical Translational Science Award^†	44	64.7

↵* Response categories are not mutually exclusive.
↵† Data obtained from the 2011 Agency for Health care Research and Quality PBRN Resource Center Registry; all other data were obtained from the PRIME Net Survey of PBRN directors.