Motivations for (non)participation in population-based health studies among the elderly - comparison of participants and nonparticipants of a prospective study on influenza vaccination.
Participation in epidemiological studies has strongly declined in recent years. We examined the reasons for (non)participation in population-based health studies among participants and nonparticipants of a prospective study on influenza vaccination among the elderly.



Males and females between 65 and 80 years of age (N = 5582) were randomly selected from the residents' registration office in Hannover, Germany, and were invited to participate in a study featuring vaccination with a seasonal adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Fluad™, Novartis) including five follow-up visits (day 0, 1/3, 7, 21, 70 with respect to vaccination). A 24-item nonresponder questionnaire, including 10 items on reasons for participating in a hypothetical health study, was mailed to 1500 randomly selected nonparticipants. The same 10 items were included in the end-of-study questionnaire administered to the participants in the vaccination study (n = 200). Logistic regression analysis with backward elimination was used to identify the reasons most strongly associated with nonparticipation.



Five hundred thirty-one (35%) nonparticipants and 200 participants (100%) returned the respective questionnaires. Nonparticipation was associated with a lower interest in obtaining personal health information (OR = 3.32) and a preference for less invasive (OR = 3.01) and less time-demanding (OR = 2.19) studies. Responses to other items, e.g. regarding altruistic motives, monetary compensation, general interest of the study, or study approval through ethics committee and data security authority, did not differ between participants and nonparticipants.



Participation rates in health studies among elderly individuals could potentially be improved by reducing interventions and time demand, for instance by implementing methods of self-sampling and remote data collection.



No. 1100359 (ClinicalTrials.gov, date of registration: 09.02.2015).
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany. manas.akmatov@twincore.de.|Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany. manas.akmatov@twincore.de.|Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine, Hannover, Germany. manas.akmatov@twincore.de.|Research Group "Biomarkers for Infectious Diseases", TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 7, Hannover, 30625, Germany. manas.akmatov@twincore.de.
Manas K
MK
Akmatov
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.
Leonhard
L
Jentsch
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Peggy
P
Riese
MHH CRC Core Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Marcus
M
May
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.
Malik W
MW
Ahmed
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.
Damaris
D
Werner
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.
Anja
A
Rösel
Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Jana
J
Prokein
Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Inga
I
Bernemann
Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Norman
N
Klopp
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Blair
B
Prochnow
Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Thomas
T
Illig
MHH CRC Core Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Christoph
C
Schindler
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.|Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Carlos A
CA
Guzman
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.|Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.|Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Frank
F
Pessler
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D045808:Refusal to Participate / Q000523:psychology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D007252:Influenza Vaccines
Elderly; Germany; Motivations; Nonparticipants; Participation; Population-based study; Reasons