Journal article
Maximising retention in a longitudinal study of genital Chlamydia trachomatis among young women in Australia
J Walker, CK Fairley, E Urban, MY Chen, C Bradshaw, SM Walker, B Donovan, SN Tabrizi, K McNamee, M Currie, M Pirotta, J Kaldor, LC Gurrin, H Birden, V Harindra, FJ Bowden, S Garland, JM Gunn, JS Hocking
BMC Public Health | BIOMED CENTRAL LTD | Published : 2011
Abstract
Background: Cohort studies are an important study design however they are difficult to implement, often suffer from poor retention, low participation and bias. The aims of this paper are to describe the methods used to recruit and retain young women in a longitudinal study and to explore factors associated with loss to follow up. Methods. The Chlamydia Incidence and Re-infection Rates Study (CIRIS) was a longitudinal study of Australian women aged 16 to 25 years recruited from primary health care clinics. They were followed up via the post at three-monthly intervals and required to return questionnaires and self collected vaginal swabs for chlamydia testing. The protocol was designed to maxi..
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Funding Acknowledgements
[ "This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, as part of a National Chlamydia Pilot program that is currently running to test the effectiveness of a number of models for chlamydia testing in Australia. This project will assist in developing possible recommendations for a National Chlamydia Program.", "The analysis of MG was funded by the National Health and Research Council (research grant number 509144)." ]