Abstract
BackgroundWhile schools can provide a comprehensive sampling frame for community-based studies of children and their families, recruitment is challenging. Multi-level approaches which engage multiple school stakeholders have been recommended but few studies have documented their effects. This paper compares the impact of a standard versus enhanced engagement approach on multiple indicators of recruitment: parent response rates, response times, reminders required and sample characteristics.MethodsParents and teachers were distributed a brief screening questionnaire as a first step for recruitment to a longitudinal study, with two cohorts recruited in consecutive years (cohort 1 2011, cohort 2 2012). For cohort 2, additional engagement strategies included the use of pre-notification postcards, improved study materials, and recruitment progress graphs provided to school staff. Chi-square and t-tests were used to examine cohort differences.ResultsCompared to cohort 1, a higher proportion of cohort 2 parents responded to the survey (76% versus 69%; p < 0.001), consented to participate (71% versus 56%; p < 0.001), agreed to teacher participation (90% versus 82%; p < 0.001) and agreed to follow-up contact (91% versus 80%; p < 0.001). Fewer cohort 2 parents required reminders (52% versus 63%; p < 0.001), and cohort 2 parents responded more promptly than cohort 1 parents (mean difference: 19.4 days, 95% CI: 18.0 to 20.9, p < 0.001).ConclusionThese results illustrate the value of investing in a relatively simple multi-level strategy to maximise parent response rates, and potentially reduce recruitment time and costs.
Highlights
98.8% of Australian children aged 6–15 years are enrolled in school, [1] making the school setting appropriate for ascertaining population-representative samples of children and their parents
We examined the impact of an enhanced engagement approach on parent recruitment as part of the Children’s Attention Project
We examined the effectiveness of an enhanced research condition targeted at multiple stakeholders (Education Department staff, principals, teaching staff, administrative staff and parents) compared to a standard research condition in improving parent response rates
Summary
98.8% of Australian children aged 6–15 years are enrolled in school, [1] making the school setting appropriate for ascertaining population-representative samples of children and their parents. Numerous studies have demonstrated that school-based recruitment is challenging [2,3,4,5] and it can be difficult to achieve the high participation rates crucial for ensuring the generalizability of research findings. In the school setting, few studies have documented strategies that improve response rates or have compared the effectiveness of alternate recruitment approaches. The current study addresses this gap by comparing school-based recruitment approaches in a large sample of elementary school aged children. While schools can provide a comprehensive sampling frame for community-based studies of children and their families, recruitment is challenging. Multi-level approaches which engage multiple school stakeholders have been recommended but few studies have documented their effects. This paper compares the impact of a standard versus enhanced engagement approach on multiple indicators of recruitment: parent response rates, response times, reminders required and sample characteristics
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