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Shereen Khatapoush, PhD, Victoria Sanchez, DrPH, and Denise Hallfors, PhD. Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1995 University Avenue, Suite 450, Berkeley, CA 94704, 510-883-5721, shereen_khatapoush@yahoo.com
Longitudinal studies pose numerous methodological and practical challenges, including participant recruitment and retention. For the last three years, the authors have been conducting an effectiveness study of an indicated prevention program in two large, urban, and ethnically diverse high school districts in the United States. To date, our overall retention rate is 90% -- in districts where a 30% student mobility rate is common, and with a study sample size of nearly 2000 youth. The purpose of this paper is to summarize our experience and offer lessons learned from identifying, recruiting and retaining high risk students in this multi-site longitudinal study. We provide a detailed discussion of the methods, strategies and resources used to identify, recruit and retain students in the study. Our presentation on “Student Identification” includes strategies for working with school districts to obtain student data, and with school staff to identify and refer appropriate students for the study. “Student Recruitment” includes planning for appropriate staffing and resource allocation, strategies used to obtain consent from students and parents, as well as student incentives for participation. Particular attention will be given to successfully working with school information gatekeepers and also to recruiting students and families from multiethnic, multilingual populations. Finally, “Student Retention” includes strategies to minimize attrition. Identification, recruitment and retention are critical issues in successfully conducting longitudinal studies in real world settings. Information presented will provide a valuable guide to researchers attempting to conduct longitudinal studies of high risk youth.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: School-Based Programs, Research
Related Web page: www.ryevaluation.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.