Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30477443›Full record

SynthesisBMC medical research methodology2018

Retention strategies in longitudinal cohort studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Samantha Teague, George J Youssef, Jacqui A Macdonald, Emma Sciberras, Adrian Shatte, Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Chris Greenwood, Jennifer McIntosh, Craig A Olsson, Delyse Hutchinson and 1 more

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medical research methodology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 252 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
252citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

252 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Predictors and mechanisms of self-stigma in five chronic skin diseases: A systematic review.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2025
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  18. The Cog-Aging: a 15-year cohort study of cognition in Brazilian older adults.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
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192 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Samantha TeagueCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
George J YoussefCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Jacqui A MacdonaldCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Emma SciberrasCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Adrian ShatteSchool of Engineering & Information Technology, Faculty of Science & Technology, Federation University, Melbourne, Australia.
Matthew Fuller-TyszkiewiczCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Chris GreenwoodCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Jennifer McIntoshCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Craig A OlssonCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
Delyse HutchinsonCentre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Geelong, Victoria, 3125, Australia. delyse.hutchinson@deakin.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0003-3221-7143
SEED Lifecourse Sciences Theme

Funding

U19 MIDlife in the United States-Diversity Supplement-WellsU19AG051426 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CAROL D. RYFF · 2016 to 2026
$74.8M
NIA NIH HHS U19 AG051426
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundParticipant retention strategies that minimise attrition in longitudinal cohort studies have evolved considerably in recent years. This study aimed to assess, via systematic review and meta-analysis, the effectiveness of both traditional strategies and contemporary innovations for retention adopted by longitudinal cohort studies in the past decade.

methodsHealth research databases were searched for retention strategies used within longitudinal cohort studies published in the 10-years prior, with 143 eligible longitudinal cohort studies identified (141 articles; sample size range: 30 to 61,895). Details on retention strategies and rates, research designs, and participant demographics were extracted. Meta-analyses of retained proportions were performed to examine the association between cohort retention rate and individual and thematically grouped retention strategies.

resultsResults identified 95 retention strategies, broadly classed as either: barrier-reduction, community-building, follow-up/reminder, or tracing strategies. Forty-four of these strategies had not been identified in previous reviews. Meta-regressions indicated that studies using barrier-reduction strategies retained 10% more of their sample (95%CI [0.13 to 1.08]; p = .01); however, studies using follow-up/reminder strategies lost an additional 10% of their sample (95%CI [- 1.19 to - 0.21]; p = .02). The overall number of strategies employed was not associated with retention.

conclusionsEmploying a larger number of retention strategies may not be associated with improved retention in longitudinal cohort studies, contrary to earlier narrative reviews. Results suggest that strategies that aim to reduce participant burden (e.g., flexibility in data collection methods) might be most effective in maximising cohort retention.

Indexed as

Patient SelectionCohort StudiesData CollectionHumansLongitudinal StudiesPatient DropoutsPatient ParticipationAttritionCohortDrop-outEngagementFollow-upLongitudinalRetention

Identifiers

PMID30477443
PMCPMC6258319

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.