Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Dec;1(3):143-150.
doi: 10.14283/jpad.2014.27.

A patient-centered analysis of enrollment and retention in a randomized behavioral trial of two cognitive rehabilitation interventions for Mild Cognitive Impairment

Dona E C Locke  1 , Melanie Chandler Greenaway  2 , Noah Duncan  3 , Julie A Fields  4 , Andrea V Cuc  1 , Charlene Hoffman Snyder  5 , Sherrie Hanna  4 , Angela Lunde  4 , Glenn E Smith  4
Affiliations

A patient-centered analysis of enrollment and retention in a randomized behavioral trial of two cognitive rehabilitation interventions for Mild Cognitive Impairment

Dona E C Locke et al. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Background: A major potential barrier for studying behavioral interventions for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is the willingness and ability of people to enroll in and adhere to behavioral interventions, especially when the intervention involves dyads of patients with MCI and support partners. Details regarding recruitment strategies and processes (such as number of dyads screened) are often missing from reports of behavioral trials. In addition, reports do not detail the reasons a potentially eligible candidate opts out of participation in a research study.

Objective: To describe the challenges and successes of enrollment and retention in a behavioral trial for persons with MCI and their care partners, and to better understand barriers to participation from the patient's point of view.

Design: Multi-site, randomized trial.

Setting: Major medical centers.

Participants: Our accrual target for the study was 60 participants. Potential candidates were patients presenting to memory evaluation clinics whose resulting clinical diagnosis was MCI. A total of 200 consecutive potential candidates were approached about participating in the study across the three sites.

Intervention: Detailed recruitment and retention data of a randomized trial comparing two behavioral interventions (memory notebook training versus computer training) provided in two separate training time frames (10 days versus 6 weeks).

Measurements: Structured interview with those declining to participate in the trial.

Results: Overall recruitment 37% with a range of 13%-72% across sites. Overall retention 86% with a range of 74%-94% across sites.

Conclusion: The primary barriers to enrollment from the patient's perspective were distance to the treatment center and competing comprehensive behavioral programming. However, retention data suggest that those dyads who enroll in behavioral programs are highly committed.

Keywords: MCI; behavioral intervention; recruitment; retention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Enrollment details
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Petersen R, et al. Mild cognitive impairment: Clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of Neurology. 1999;56(3):303–308. - PubMed
    1. Ganguli M, et al. Mild cognitive impairment, amnestic type an epidemiologic study. Neurology. 2004;63:115–121. - PubMed
    1. Lopez O, et al. Prevalence and classification of mild cognitive impairment in the Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study: part 1. Arch Neurol. 2003;60(10):1385–1389. - PubMed
    1. Albert M, et al. The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. 2011;7(3):270–279. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McKhann G, et al. The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. 2011;7(3):263–269. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources