Strategies for successful recruitment and retention of abused women for longitudinal studies.

Researchers agree that high recruitment and retention rates are essential for longitudinal studies and can be a daunting task. This paper examines retention rates for longitudinal studies of abused women and presents strategies to maximize recruitment and retention. The techniques presented resulted in subject retention rates of 89% to 100% in longitudinal prevalence, quasi-experimental, and randomized clinical trials that followed participants for up to 24 months. The findings point to the importance of establishing and sustaining collaborative partnerships with agencies, multiple contacts sources with study participants, incremental monetary incentives, and a detailed field tracking protocol that includes safety practices.