ABSTRACT

Objective

To examine factors related to attrition in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) study sample assessed up to 15 years after injury.

Participants

One thousand twenty-eight participants with TBI who completed the year 1 follow-up assessment at a TBI Model Systems Center between 1992 and 2018.

Method

Secondary analysis of data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study considering follow-up data collection completion status at years 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15.

Results

In univariable analyses, multiple factors were associated with loss to follow-up (LOFU) including being a member of a socially disadvantaged group, substance use history, residence, payor, cause of injury, and results of earlier follow-up attempts. In a multiple logistic regression analysis examining the prediction of follow-up condition at 10 or 15 years post-injury, only payor and race/ethnicity were significant predictors. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with higher odds of LOFU, and these participants often spoke Spanish and were born outside of the United States.

Conclusions

The findings suggest a need to understand sociodemographic variables and their influence on participant attrition in longitudinal TBI research. With a better understanding of these predictors, procedures can be developed to address retention of participants who are identified as being at increased risk for study drop out.

中文翻译：

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在对创伤性脑损伤患者的纵向研究中了解失访

摘要

客观的

在创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 研究样本中检查与磨损相关的因素，该样本在受伤后评估长达 15 年。

参与者

1992 年至 2018 年期间，一千二十八名 TBI 参与者在 TBI 模型系统中心完成了第一年的后续评估。

方法

考虑到第 1、2、5、10 和 15 年的随访数据收集完成状态，对来自前瞻性纵向队列研究的数据进行二次分析。

结果

在单变量分析中，多个因素与失访 (LOFU) 相关，包括社会弱势群体的成员、药物使用史、居住地、付款人、受伤原因以及早期随访尝试的结果。在检查受伤后 10 年或 15 年随访状况预测的多元逻辑回归分析中，只有付款人和种族/民族是重要的预测因素。西班牙裔种族与 LOFU 的几率更高有关，这些参与者经常说西班牙语并且出生在美国以外。

结论

研究结果表明需要了解社会人口变量及其对纵向 TBI 研究中参与者流失的影响。通过更好地了解这些预测因素，可以制定程序来解决被确定为研究辍学风险增加的参与者的保留问题。