Recruiting heterosexual couples from the general population for studies in rural South Africa – challenges and lessons (Project Accept, HPTN 043)

Couples should be included in HIV prevention research, but their recruitment in southern Africa is challenging given high levels of migration and non-cohabitation. We describe the recruitment strategies and experiences of a pilot study in rural South Africa. With the aim of recruiting 20 couples at mobile voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) caravans and community venues, 75 index partners were screened with an average of 4 additional contacts required to schedule interviews. Recruiting and interviewing couples is feasible, but requires substantial resources.