Recruitment and Retention of Older Adolescent and Young Adult Female Survivors of Childhood Cancer in Longitudinal Research

Abstract

To describe the challenges encountered in the recruitment and retention of a sample of older adolescent and young adult female survivors of childhood cancer for a longitudinal study testing a targeted psychosocial intervention aimed at enhancing hope. Published literature on constructing longitudinal intervention studies and strategies in the recruitment and retention of childhood cancer survivors in research was used to develop the protocol of this study. Using empirical literature to construct the study's design resulted in achieving certain goals for the design, but not in the recruitment and retention of study participants. Using online technology to deliver the intervention and collect data was efficient and effective. Traditional approaches to recruitment and retention of those survivors, however, were not effective. Use of more novel approaches to enroll study participants demonstrated only modest success. Additional research is needed on strategies to successfully recruit and retain older adolescents and young adult female survivors of childhood cancer in longitudinal intervention studies. The improvement in the psychological well-being of female survivors of childhood cancer remains an important outcome in ongoing care. The need to continue to identify creative and effective ways to recruit and retain those survivors is warranted.