Methods used to maintain a high level of participant involvement in a clinical trial

Abstract

Objectives - To describe the strategies adopted to maintain high level participation throughout a community based clinical trial, and the reasons given by participants for why they participated in the study. Design - Observational study. Setting - Community based clinical trial in Melbourne, Australia that ran for 68 weeks and involved 2811 community based individuals from 600 families. A high level of commitment was required of the families; each participant completed a Health Diary each week of the 68 week study, as well as answering numerous other questionnaires, and providing faecal and blood samples. Main results - Only 41 of the 600 families withdrew from the study; the majority of the..