Retention Factors for Participants of an Inner-City Community-Based Asthma Intervention Study

Participant retention is a significant challenge for asthma field trials examining the effectiveness of prevention strategies in inner-city communities. Here, the authors evaluate factors associated with participant retention in an inner-city, pediatric, asthma intervention trial in Atlanta, Georgia, during 1998–2000. Demographic, clinical, residential, personnel, and logistical variables were analyzed by chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum nonparametric tests to compare children who remained in the asthma study with those who were dropped. Of the 489 participants, 486 (99%) were African-American, 467 (96%) were non-Hispanic, 281 (57%) were male, and 142 (29%) remained in the study. Of the 347 dropouts, 149 (43%) were dropped because of missing study visits. Retention rates were significantly higher (P