Abstract
Objective: Loss to follow-up threatens internal and external validity yet little research has examined ways to limit participant attrition. We conducted a systematic review of studies with a primary focus on strategies to retain participants in health care research. Study Design and Settings: We completed searches of PubMed, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Cochrane Methodology Register, and EMBASE (August 2005). We also examined reference lists of eligible articles and relevant reviews. A data-driven thematic analysis of the retention strategies identified common themes. Results: We retrieved 3,068 citations, 21 studies were eligible for inclusion. We abstracted 368 strategies and from these identified 12 themes. The studies reported a median of 17 strategies across a median of six themes. The most commonly reported strategies were systematic methods of participant contact and scheduling. Studies with retention rates lower than the mean rate (86%) reported fewer strategies. There was no difference in the number of different themes used. Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that investigators should consider using a number of retention strategies across several themes to maximize the retention of participants. Further research, including explicit evaluation of the effectiveness of different strategies, is needed.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 757.e1-757.e19 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Epidemiology |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2007 |
Keywords
- Cohort studies
- Follow-up studies
- In-person follow-up
- Patient dropouts
- Patient participation
- Systematic review
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Epidemiology