title: Factors affecting recruitment and participation of bereaved parents and siblings in grief research.
abstract: This study examined participation factors in a study of families (N= 84) within 1 year of a child's cancer-related death. Specific aims were to examine associations between: (a) recruitment variables (number of phone calls made to eligible families, number of calls answered by eligible families) and participation rates (study agreement and refusal) and (b) characteristics of deceased children (gender, age, length of illness, time since death) and participation rates. Characteristics of deceased children did not differ between participating and non-participating families. Researchers made significantly fewer calls to participating versus refusing families. Participating families most often agreed during the first successful call connection, and more calls did not mean more recruitment success. Thus, it is reasonable to limit the number of calls made to bereaved families. Despite recruitment challenges, many bereaved parents and siblings are willing and interested to participate in grief research.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Terrah Foster
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Akard
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Jo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gilmer
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Katy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Levine Children's Hospital, Charlotte, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Amii Corbisiero
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hancock
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Maru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barrera
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Compas
authors.affiliation: University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Fairclough
authors.affiliation: Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.affiliation: The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vannatta
authors.affiliation: The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
keywords: Bereaved parents; Bereaved sibling; Bereavement; Childhood cancer; Grief; Pediatric palliative care; Recruitment