Factors influencing attrition in a multisite, randomized, clinical trial following traumatic brain injury in adolescence.
BACKGROUND
Attrition in longitudinal research negatively affects statistical power, disrupts statistical stability, and can produce unwanted bias.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate factors associated with shorter length of study participation and lower rates of study completion (ie, attrition) in a large, multisite, longitudinal, randomized, clinical trial examining the efficacy of a Web-based family problem-solving treatment following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adolescence.


METHODS
Five major trauma centers in the central and western regions of the United States.


METHODS
Children (N = 132) aged 12 to 17 years hospitalized for complicated mild to severe TBI within the previous 6 months.


RESULTS
Completers had a higher primary caregiver education and higher family income than noncompleters, whereas ethnicity, latency to baseline assessment, and intervention group were not significantly associated with study completion.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study that has specifically examined factors of attrition in a pediatric TBI population. The results suggest that research on pediatric TBI populations may be biased toward higher-income families and highlights the importance of designing studies with increased awareness of the impact of participant demographic factors.
Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora (Mr Blaha and Ms Arnett); Children's Hospital Colorado & University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora (Dr Kirkwood); Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital & Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (Dr Taylor); MetroHealth Medical Center & Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (Dr Stancin); Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Dr Brown); and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center & University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr Wade).
Robert Z
RZ
Blaha
Anne B
AB
Arnett
Michael W
MW
Kirkwood
H Gerry
HG
Taylor
Terry
T
Stancin
Tanya M
TM
Brown
Shari L
SL
Wade
D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011340:Problem Solving; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors