This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Villacorta, V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Villacorta, V. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Innovative approaches to cohort retention in a community-based HIV/STI prevention trial for socially marginalized Peruvian young adults

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

Susan Kegeles

University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

Jerome Galea

Kelika A Konda

University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

José Pajuelo Cuba

Carlos F Cáceres Palacios

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

Thomas J Coates

University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

NIMH Collaborative HIV/STD Prevention Trial Group

Background The conduct of longitudinal clinical trials must involve effective strategies to retain study participants in order to ensure internal validity, adequate statistical power and generalizability of results.

Purpose In a large trial in Peru, we implemented various retention strategies to maintain high participation rates over time.

Methods Novel participant retention strategies were used to follow highly marginalized populations for two years because traditional locator information, such as telephone numbers and official identification (eg, passport, driver's license, the local equivalent of a social security number) were often unreliable or unavailable. These strategies included detailed preliminary ethnographic research to identify the behaviours of key target groups, approaches to develop strong informal bonds between project staff and participants outside of study settings, and methods to enhance positive participant attitudes towards the study.

Results The overall study retention rate after two years was 84%, even though only 26% of the study populations supplied complete locator information (telephone, address and the names of two friends).

Limitations The retention strategies used were labour intensive and iterative, which could prove difficult to replicate.

Conclusions The two-year retention rate in this study was sufficient to maintain required sample sizes. The methods used to maintain contact with the populations were labour intensive, low tech and adequate for these populations and could be used to retain study participants in other marginalized, urban, low-income areas.

Clinical Trials, Vol. 4, No. 1, 32-41 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1740774506075869


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?