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      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
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      How one small text change in a study document can impact recruitment rates and follow-up completions

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          Abstract

          Background

          The validity and reliability of longitudinal research is highly dependent on the recruitment and retention of representative samples. Various strategies have been developed and tested for improving recruitment and follow-up rates into health-behavioural research, but few have examined the role of linguistic choices and study document readability on participation rates. This study examined the impact of one small text change, assigning an inappropriate or grade-8 reading level password for intervention access, on participation rates and attrition in an online alcohol intervention trial.

          Methods

          Participants were recruited into an online alcohol intervention study using Amazon's Mechanical Turk via a multi-step recruitment process which required participants to log into a study portal using a pre-assigned password. Passwords were qualitatively coded as grade-8 and/or inappropriate for use within a professional setting. Separate logistic regressions examined which demographic, clinical characteristics, and password categorizations were most strongly associated with recruitment rates and follow-up completions.

          Results

          Inappropriate passwords were a barrier for recruitment among participants with post-secondary education as compared to those with less education ( p = 0.044), while grade-8 passwords appeared to significantly facilitate the completion of 6-month follow-ups ( p = 0.005).

          Conclusions

          Altogether, these findings suggest that some linguistic choices may play an important role in recruitment, while others, such as readability, may have longer-term effects on follow-up rates and attrition. Possible explanations for the findings, as well as, sample selection biases during recruitment and follow-up are discussed. Limitations of the study are stated and recommendations for researchers are provided.

          Trial registration

          ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02977026. Registered 27 Nov 2016.

          Highlights

          • •

            Inappropriate language is a barrier for recruiting individuals with greater education.

          • •

            Study documents with higher readability may facilitate follow-up completions.

          • •

            Demographic characteristics can hinder or facilitate recruitment and follow-up rates.

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          Most cited references29

          • Record: found
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          Concordance between administrative claims and registry data for identifying metastasis to the bone: an exploratory analysis in prostate cancer

          Eberechukwu Onukwugha, Candice Yong, Arif Hussain … (2014)
          Background To assess concordance between Medicare claims and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) reports of incident BM among prostate cancer (PCa) patients. The prevalence and consequences of bone metastases (BM) have been examined across tumor sites using healthcare claims data however the reliability of these claims-based BM measures has not been investigated. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized linked registry and claims (SEER-Medicare) data on men diagnosed with incident stage IV M1 PCa between 2005 and 2007. The SEER-based measure of incident BM was cross-tabulated with three separate Medicare claims approaches to assess concordance. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated to assess the concordance between registry- and claims-based measures. Results Based on 2,708 PCa patients in SEER-Medicare, there is low to moderate concordance between the SEER- and claims-based measures of incident BM. Across the three approaches, sensitivity ranged from 0.48 (0.456 – 0.504) to 0.598 (0.574 - 0.621), specificity ranged from 0.538 (0.507 - 0.569) to 0.620 (0.590 - 0.650) and PPV ranged from 0.679 (0.651 - 0.705) to 0.690 (0.665 - 0.715). A comparison of utilization patterns between SEER-based and claims-based measures suggested avenues for improving sensitivity. Conclusion Claims-based measures using BM ICD 9 coding may be insufficient to identify patients with incident BM diagnosis and should be validated against chart data to maximize their potential for population-based analyses.
          Article 0 comments Cited 279 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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            Loss to follow-up in cohort studies: how much is too much?

            Vicki Kristman, Michael Manno, Pierre Côté (2003)
            Loss to follow-up is problematic in most cohort studies and often leads to bias. Although guidelines suggest acceptable follow-up rates, the authors are unaware of studies that test the validity of these recommendations. The objective of this study was to determine whether the recommended follow-up thresholds of 60-80% are associated with biased effects in cohort studies. A simulation study was conducted using 1000 computer replications of a cohort of 500 observations. The logistic regression model included a binary exposure and three confounders. Varied correlation structures of the data represented various levels of confounding. Differing levels of loss to follow-up were generated through three mechanisms: missing completely at random (MCAR), missing at random (MAR) and missing not at random (MNAR). The authors found no important bias with levels of loss that varied from 5 to 60% when loss to follow-up was related to MCAR or MAR mechanisms. However, when observations were lost to follow-up based on a MNAR mechanism, the authors found seriously biased estimates of the odds ratios with low levels of loss to follow-up. Loss to follow-up in cohort studies rarely occurs randomly. Therefore, when planning a cohort study, one should assume that loss to follow-up is MNAR and attempt to achieve the maximum follow-up rate possible.
            Article 0 comments Cited 230 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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              The relationship between social desirability bias and self-reports of health, substance use, and social network factors among urban substance users in Baltimore, Maryland.

              C Latkin, C. Edwards, M.A. Davey-Rothwell … (2017)
              Social desirability response bias may lead to inaccurate self-reports and erroneous study conclusions. The present study examined the relationship between social desirability response bias and self-reports of mental health, substance use, and social network factors among a community sample of inner-city substance users.
              Article 0 comments Cited 155 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Alexandra Godinho
                Christina Schell
                John A. Cunningham
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Internet Interv
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Internet Interv
                Title: Internet Interventions
                Publisher: Elsevier
                ISSN (Electronic): 2214-7829
                Publication date PMC-release: 20 October 2019
                Publication date Collection: December 2019
                Publication date (Electronic): 20 October 2019
                Volume: 18
                Electronic Location Identifier: 100284
                Affiliations
                [a ]Institute of Mental Health and Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
                [b ]Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
                [c ]Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
                Author notes
                [* ]Corresponding author at: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell St., Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S1, Canada. john.cunningham@ 123456camh.ca
                Article
                Publisher ID: S2214-7829(19)30100-9 Publisher ID: 100284
                DOI: 10.1016/j.invent.2019.100284
                PMC ID: 6926325
                SO-VID: 27a68f75-b531-4eca-a07f-4e659a34b388
                Copyright © © 2019 The Authors
                License:

                This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

                History
                Date received : 23 August 2019
                Date revision received : 2 October 2019
                Date accepted : 4 October 2019
                Categories
                Subject: ISRII meeting 2019 special issue: Guest edited by Gerhard Anderson, Sonja March and Mathijs Lucassen

                Keywords: recruitment,attrition,research participation,follow-up rates,research methodology
                Data availability:
                Keywords: recruitment, attrition, research participation, follow-up rates, research methodology

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