Recruitment, Enrollment, and Response of Parent-Adolescent Dyads in the FLASHE Study

In 2014, the National Cancer Institute conducted the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study (FLASHE). This parent and adolescent survey examines psychosocial; generational (parent-adolescent); and environmental (home and neighborhood) correlates of cancer-preventive behaviors, with a particular emphasis on diet and physical activity. This paper describes the FLASHE data collection methods and enrollment and response rates.

FLASHE data collection methods included web-based surveys delivered to dyads of parents and their adolescent children, and deployment of accelerometers to a subset of adolescents, to achieve study goals in a nationwide study sample. The National Cancer Institute contracted with Westat, Inc. to recruit, enroll, and collect the data using a consumer opinion panel.

A total of 5,027 dyads were screened for eligibility, and 1,945 (38.7%) enrolled. Of fully enrolled dyads, 85.6% of those in the Survey-Only group completed all four surveys, and 58.7% of dyads in the Motion Study group completed all surveys and were compliant with the accelerometer protocol for adolescents. The overall study response rate was 29.4%; 1,479 dyads completed all study procedures. The majority of parents were female, whereas the adolescent sample was gender balanced. Data were analyzed in 2015-2016.

FLASHE recruited a large sample of parent-adolescent dyads. Although challenges for research in parent-adolescent dyads include enrolling a diverse sample and having multistep enrollment and consent processes, study completion rate was high among fully enrolled dyads. Future panel studies may consider approaches used in FLASHE to encourage study enrollment and completion.