Table 4.
Content analysis of retention facilitators (N = 57) and barriers (N = 10) from the included studies
| Theme | Domain | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Setting (n = 11) | Retention Facilitators (n = 11) | |
| Home visit (n=4) | In-person visits offered to those unable to travel | |
| Clinic/hospital visit (n=4) | Research clinic, study hospital | |
| Home assessment (n=3) | Web-based questionnaires, study kits, questionnaires by post | |
| Retention Barriers (n=1) | ||
| Clinic/hospital; (n=1) | Liaison with the hospital staff and fitting in with the daily hospital routines were essential, but not always easy to achieve. | |
| Scheduling (n = 6) | Retention Facilitators (n = 6) | |
| Flexibility (n=4) | Adaptable to needs of cohort, option to reschedule, choice of in-person or phone, not discouraged to bring relatives or children to appointments | |
| Convenience (n=2) | Coordinated visits with scheduled appointments | |
| Contacting participants (n = 27) | Retention Facilitators (n = 25) | |
| Tracking (n=5) | Frequent family contact, (e.g., holiday greeting cards with address correction requested, handwritten envelopes, attractive postage), electronic health records; computerized tracking system, database linkage techniques | |
| Multiple personal contacts (n=4) | Contact details of up to four relatives or friends, current partner, 2 non-household contacts | |
| Phone (n=3) | 24-hour answering machine, remind/schedule/confirm appointment one week in advance, remind 1-day in advance | |
| Postal mail (n=3) | ‘Thank you’ letters, confirmation of upcoming appointments | |
| Text (n=3) | Automated texting as appointment reminders | |
| Email (n=3) | Follow-up and appointment reminder | |
| Frequency (n=2) | Maintaining regular contact every 6–12 months | |
| Other (n=2) | Appointment cards, personalized messages | |
| Retention Barriers (n = 2) | ||
| Phones (n=1) | Inability to contact participants were more common in women with lower education and 3 or more children compared to one birth | |
| Text (n=1) | Not having use of texts were a missed opportunity | |
| Participant Factors (n = 12) | Retention Facilitators (n = 7) | |
| Motivators (n=7) | Fostering healthy habits, ideal number of appointments, informed of importance of study, regular updates, continued positive experiences, comfortable completing study activities, positive attitude and enthusiasm about study | |
| Retention Barriers (n = 5) | ||
| Barriers (n=5) | Loss of interest, pregnancy loss, relocation, multiple caregiver shifts, substance abuse/psychiatric problems | |
| Cultural Considerations (n = 10) | Retention Facilitators (n = 8) | |
| Cultural sensitivity (n=4) | Culturally relevant strategies, e.g., translation services, study materials, and text and phone messages received and answered in participant’s preferred language | |
| Flexibility (n=2) | Alignment of study processes with cultural and community needs, Omani women travel in the summer to cooler climates | |
| Trust (n=2) | Providing early data feedback and results regardless of length of participation, accessibility to principal investigator | |
| Retention Barriers (n = 2) | ||
| Loss of contact (n=2) | Changes of address; changes of phone numbers | |