Recruitment and retention of WIC participants in a longitudinal dietary intervention trial

Abstract

BackgroundThis paper describes strategies and outcomes of techniques to recruit and retain low-income women served by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in a longitudinal dietary intervention trial.MethodsCommunity engagement strategies, methods to recruit and retain participants, and recruitment and retention rates are reported. Demographic and lifestyle predictors of loss to follow-up, contacts required to reach participants at each data collection point, participant reactions to the recruitment and retention strategies used, and reasons for drop out (assessed among those who discontinued their study involvement) also were examined.ResultsOf 1281 eligible women, 744 were enrolled (58% recruitment rate); retention rates were 87%, 70%, and 55%, respectively, 2 weeks and 3 and 6 months post-intervention. Being unmarried, younger, and having low baseline vegetable intake predicted loss to follow-up. Between 4 and 5 contact attempts and 1 and 2 completed contacts were required to reach participants at each data collection point. Participants endorsed recruiting women while waiting for WIC appointments (as they were accessible, perceived the information provided as informative, and wanted to pass the time) and by word of mouth. Lacking time and loss of interest were commonly reported reasons for not completing assessments and dropout. To improve retention, shortening telephone assessments, conducting the assessments in person, and increasing the amount of incentives were recommended.ConclusionDespite using recommended strategies, recruitment and retention rates were modest. Research is needed to identify and test approaches to effectively engage WIC-enrolled adults in health intervention trials.

Telehealth-delivered, Cardioprotective Diet and Exercise Program for Liver Transplant Recipients: A Randomized Feasibility Study

“…Studies of diet and exercise for weight reduction are typically burdened with dropout rates of 20%–40% due to high demands on time and behavior changes of participants. 53 , 54 Across the limited number of studies that have tested diet and exercise interventions in LTRs, all within supervised clinical settings, dropout rates have ranged between 25% and 40%. 11 , 55 It was an important observation for feasibility assessment that dropout rates of this study were similar or better than for those interventions delivered face to face.…”

The Food, Feelings, and Family Study: comparison of the efficacy of traditional methods, social media, and broadcast email to recruit pregnant women to an observational, longitudinal nutrition study

“…This adds to the difficulty inherent in recruiting for longitudinal studies as long-term time commitments deter participation [17,18]. Nutrition-related studies also present unique barriers to participation [19,20]. In particular, the collection of dietary intake data requires a substantial time commitment from the participant [21,22].…”

Recruiting and Engaging Women of Reproductive Age with Obesity: Insights from A Mixed-Methods Study within A Trial

“…The importance of this was identified in the FGs. In the WIC study, Di Noia et al found benefits to word-of-mouth and suggested that asking mothers to refer other participants to aid study recruitment [ 35 ]. Our data suggest a combination of these factors may prove useful in women of reproductive age [ 36 ].…”