Minimizing Attrition for Multisite Emergency Care Research.

Bret A Nicks
Manish N Shah
David H Adler
Aveh Bastani
Christopher W Baugh
Jeffrey M Caterino
Carol L Clark, Beaumont Health
Deborah B Diercks
Judd E Hollander
Susan E Malveau
Daniel K Nishijima
Kirk A Stiffler
Alan B Storrow
Scott T Wilber
Annick N Yagapen
Benjamin C Sun

Abstract

Loss to follow-up of enrolled patients (a.k.a. attrition) is a major threat to study validity and power. Minimizing attrition can be challenging even under ideal research conditions, including the presence of adequate funding, experienced study personnel, and a refined research infrastructure. Emergency care research is shifting toward enrollment through multisite networks, but there have been limited descriptions of approaches to minimize attrition for these multicenter emergency care studies. This concept paper describes a stepwise approach to minimize attrition, using a case example of a multisite emergency department prospective cohort of over 3,000 patients that has achieved a 30-day direct phone follow-up attrition rate of