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Aims The aim of this study was to describe and discuss the recruitment strategies used in a research study of cervical cancer screening among South Asian women, the challenges encountered and the lessons learnt from the experience. Background Ethnic minority populations face different barriers to participating in research studies. Strategies have been developed to recruit this population to health-related research in Western countries, but there is little information about such research in the Asian region. Design Discussion paper. Data sources The discussion is based on our previous experience. The source of this experience is the recruitment strategies used, their results and the challenges encountered during the process. Implications for nursing Culturally, relevant strategies and maintaining good relationships with stakeholders improved participant recruitment. Familiarity with South Asians' traditional calendar - when cultural and religious festivals are held every year - would aid the setting up of appropriate schedules for participant recruitment, either before or after the periods when they cannot be reached, such as Ramadan. South Asian women are often busy with childcare and housework. This is their major responsibility in the family and any failure to fulfil such duties is a source of stress and may foster feelings of guilt. A better understanding of their daily routines is therefore important. Such information enables the establishment of daily meeting schedules to increase the success rate of recruitment. Conclusion Recruitment is a tedious process, but appropriate planning and taking account of cultural and religious practices and daily schedules will help to improve its rate of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach of low or zero carbon building (L/ZCB) has attracted increasing attention in both academic and professional fields as the carbon emissions attributable to buildings kept increasing in the past decades. However, there exist challenges with modeling the carbon emissions of high-rise buildings in high-density urban environments. The aim of this paper is to examine the challenges and develop strategies for modeling carbon emissions in high-rise public residential buildings within the context of Hong Kong. The paper first reviews the challenges facing the modeling of the carbon emissions of high-rise buildings both generally and in Hong Kong, and examines their relevant implications for building design decision making. The approaches to establishing reference building models, e.g. example, real and theoretical reference building, are investigated drawing on the regulatory and practical guidance for carbon emission modeling in Hong Kong. The paper then develops a simulation approach to analyzing the obstacles to building energy modeling for typical high-rise public residential buildings in Hong Kong. Considering the urban environmental factors that may contribute to biased results for energy simulation, this paper is focused on the technical issues during the conversion of data from BIM model to energy simulation software. Thermal zones and user behavior are also addressed since technical and subjective assumptions could lead the simulation to a wrong direction. Understanding of such challenges enables the energy simulation to perform smoothly and also informs carbon emission modeling for high-rise L/ZCBs in other urban settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]