Participants Attrition in a Longitudinal Study: The Malaysian Cohort Study Experience

Noraidatulakma Abdullah, Mohd Arman Kamaruddin, Ying-Xian Goh, Raihannah Othman, Andri Dauni, Nazihah Abd Jalal, Nurul Ain Mhd Yusuf, Salywana A. Kamat, Nor Hazlinawati Basri and Rahman Jamal
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Noraidatulakma Abdullah: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Mohd Arman Kamaruddin: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Ying-Xian Goh: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Raihannah Othman: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Andri Dauni: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Nazihah Abd Jalal: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Nurul Ain Mhd Yusuf: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Salywana A. Kamat: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Nor Hazlinawati Basri: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Rahman Jamal: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: The attrition rate of longitudinal study participation remains a challenge. To date, the Malaysian Cohort (TMC) study follow-up rate was only 42.7%. This study objective is to identify the cause of attrition among TMC participants and the measures to curb it. A total of 19,343 TMC participants from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor that was due for follow-up were studied. The two most common attrition reasons are undergoing medical treatment at another government or private health center (7.0%) and loss of interest in participating in the TMC project (5.1%). Those who were inclined to drop out were mostly Chinese, aged 50 years and above, unemployed, and had comorbidities during the baseline recruitment. We have also contacted 2183 participants for the home recruitment follow-up, and about 10.9% agreed to join. Home recruitment slightly improved the overall follow-up rate from 42.7% to 43.5% during the three-month study period.

Keywords: cohort retention; attrition; the Malaysian Cohort; follow-up methodology; Asian population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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