Exploring participant attrition in a longitudinal follow-up of older adults: the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW) Hamilton cohort

Research Attitudes Questionnaire scores and retention in a recruitment registry

BACKGROUND

Recruitment registries are maximally effective when registrants are retained to the point of referral. The Research Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ) has previously been shown to predict research participation behaviors, including Alzheimer's disease clinical trial completion.

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that RAQ score is associated with retention behaviors in a local recruitment registry.

METHODS

Using data from the UC Irvine Consent-to-Contact Registry, a recruitment registry that enrolls adults 18 years and older, we used logistic regression to quantify the association of RAQ score and the odds of first-year non-renewal. Covariates included demographic variables, comorbidities, and recruitment source. In longitudinal analyses, we used discrete proportional hazards and Cox proportional hazards models to quantify the relationship between RAQ score and time to non-renewal and time to active withdrawal, respectively.

RESULTS

Among n = 4663 participants, we estimated that a 5-point higher baseline RAQ score was associated with a 15% lower odds of first-year non-renewal, after adjustment for potential confounding factors (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: (0.79, 0.92), p < 0.001). Older age and higher education were also associated with lower odds of non-renewal while Asian race, Hispanic ethnicity, and certain recruitment sources (e.g., doctor or friend referral) were associated with higher odds of non-renewal. Higher baseline RAQ and higher annually updated RAQ were both significantly associated with lower odds of non-renewal longitudinally. Age, education, and some recruitment sources, but not RAQ, were associated with active withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONS

Opportunities exist to identify predictors of registry retention behaviors and possible targets for intervention to improve related outcomes.

Participant attrition from statewide, population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin into the longitudinal SHOW COVID-19 cohort

PURPOSE

Longitudinal studies are essential for examining how social and institutional determinants of health, historical and contemporary, affect disparities in COVID-19 related outcomes. The unequal impacts of COVID-19 likely exacerbated selected attrition in longitudinal research. This study examines attrition and survey mode effects in the SHOW COVID-19 study which recruited from a statewide, representative cohort.

MATERIALS & METHODS

Participants were recruited from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) cohort. Online surveys, or phone interviews, were administered at three timepoints during 2020-2021. The surveys captured social, behavioral, and structural determinants of health and the lived experience. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine predictors of participation and survey mode effects.

RESULTS

A total of 2304 adults completed at least one COVID-19 online survey. Participants were more educated, older, and more likely to be female, married, non-Hispanic, and White compared to non-participants. Phone participants were older, less educated, and more likely be non-White, food insecure, and have co-morbidities compared to online participants. Mode effects were seen with reporting COVID-19 beliefs, loneliness, and anxiety.

CONCLUSION

The SHOW COVID-19 cohort offers unique longitudinal data but suffered from selected attrition. Phone interview is an important mode for retention and representation.