Evaluation of Recruitment Strategies for Home-Living Vulnerable Older Adults With Depression: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Psychotherapy Trial

•What is the primary question addressed by this study?This study systematically evaluates strategies to recruit home-living vulnerable older adults with clinically significant depression into a large randomized controlled psychotherapy trial.•What is the main finding of this study?Collaboration with medical practitioners and psychologists, especially in hospitals, was the most effective recruitment strategy, while recruitment via media coverage required the least amount of temporal resources; however, participant characteristics did not differ significantly depending on recruitment strategy.Every second inclusion was initiated by relatives or gatekeepers, whereas participants who inquired about participation themselves had higher inclusion rates and were less functionally impaired.•What is the meaning of the finding?Both healthcare professionals and relatives should be actively involved in the recruitment procedure to include vulnerable older adults, especially those with a high level of functional impairment.