Paper
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Methods to Increase Participant Retention in Longitudinal Intervention Studies
Cheryl Dennison, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Problem: Attrition of study participants presents a major threat to the internal and external validity of many longitudinal studies. Effective methods are required to ensure retention of participants, especially those representing high risk populations. Purpose: The objective of this paper is to examine effective methods to increase retention in longitudinal intervention studies, with focus on the high risk population of urban black men. Approach: In a 5-year randomized trial of urban black men (n=309) ages 21-54 years with hypertension, we evaluated the effectiveness of a more intensive (MI) comprehensive educational behavioral-pharmacological intervention by a nurse practitioner-community health worker-MD team and a less intensive (LI) education and referral intervention. All participants were followed every six months via telephone and in the clinic for an annual research visit. Specific methods applied to increase participant retention included the following: • Required contact information for three persons who could get a message to participant, • Intensive tracking of vital status and residency, • Convenient and flexible appointments, • Pre-appointment reminders, • Follow-up on missed appointments, • Feedback on BP control and test results , • Birthday and holiday cards, • Moderate financial compensation for annual research visits, and • Community members as research staff. Follow up (FU) rates were 85% (n=264), 82% (n=252), 75% (n=231), 70% (n=217) and 65% (n=200) and 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months, respectively. FU rates, accounting for men who were deceased, incarcerated, or moved out of state, were 94%, 93%, 93%, 93%, and 90% at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months, respectively. Implications: A multidisciplinary research program that applied effective methods to enhance participant retention achieved high rates of follow up throughout a 5-year trial in a very high risk group. These methods can be translated for application in studies involving other high risk populations.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004