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Engagement and retention of suicide attempters in clinical research: challenges and solutions
Carly J Gibbons1, Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, Gregory K Brown
1Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA.
Background:
High attrition rates in longitudinal research can limit study generalizability, threaten internal validity, and decrease statistical power. Research has demonstrated that there can be significant differences between participants who complete a research study and those who drop out prematurely, and that treatment outcomes may be dependent on retention in a treatment protocol.
Aims:
The current paper describes the challenges encountered when implementing a randomized controlled trial of cognitive therapy for the prevention of suicide attempts and the solutions developed to overcome these problems.
Methods:
Problems unique to suicide attempters are discussed, and strategies successfully implemented to boost retention rates are provided.
Results:
The methods implemented appeared to increase retention rates in the randomized controlled trial.
Conclusions:
Many steps can be taken to work with this difficult population, and researchers are encouraged to be as involved and flexible with participants as possible.
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