Recruiting ‘hard to reach’ parents for health promotion research: experiences from a qualitative study

BMC Research Notes

Table 2 Participant characteristics

Parent characteristic	N (ROI)	% (ROI)	N (NI)	% (NI)
Place of birth
Ireland/Northern Ireland	33	71.7	34	91.9
Other part of United Kingdom	1	2.2	1	2.7
Other European country	4	8.7	1	2.7
Africa	6	13	0	0
Asia	1	2.2	0	0
Australia	0	0	1	2.7
Not specified	1	2.2	0	0
Ethnicity
White	34	73.9	36	97.3
Irish Traveller^a	5	10.8	0	0
Black or Black Irish: African	5	10.8	1	2.7
Any other Black background	1	2.2	0	0
Asian	1	2.2	0	0
Employment
Employed / self-employed	18	39.1	26	70.3
Unemployed / home duties	25	54.3	10	27
Long term sickness/disability^b	1	2.2	0	0
Student²	2	4.3	0	0
Not specified	0	0	1	2.7
Marriage status
Married / cohabiting	36	78.2	24	64.9
Single	4	8.7	10	27
Separated / divorced^b	0	0	3	8.1
Not specified	6	13	0	0
Eligibility for benefits
Full medical card^bor Healthy Start^c	24	52.1	16	43.2
Social support
Enough help	29	63	30	81.1
Not enough help	8	17.4	6	16.2
No help at all	3	6.5	1	2.7

^aAn indigenous ethnic minority group
^bAsked in ROI only; Full medical card: a means tested entitlement to reduced cost or free medical care for a wide range of services used as an indicator for low income
^cAsked in NI only; Healthy Start: a means tested UK government food welfare scheme for low income or at risk families used as an indicator for low income
Some questionnaire items differed slightly in each jurisdiction as they were taken from either the UK or Irish censuses (Additional file 2)

ISSN: 1756-0500