Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP). Part 2: Screening and recruitment.

Enhancing Participation of Older Women in Surgical Trials

“…4,[11][12][13] In our study, although there was a higher dropout rate before operation in younger participants, the finding of one statistically significant difference was probably by chance. The finding of no difference at every other time point provides much stronger evidence for the conclusion that there was no difference in the retention rates or rates of missed visits between older and younger participants.…”

“…1,[4][5][6][7][8][9] The consensus is that it is more difficult to recruit older participants than younger participants and that older women are more difficult to recruit than older men. 10 Retention of older participants in trials after enrollment is reported to be comparable to retention of younger participants, 4,[11][12][13] but there are challenges to retention that are unique to the elderly-especially their dependence on family and caregivers for transportation. Another concern for the participation of older participants is data quality and particularly the effects of impairments in memory, hearing, and vision on responses to questionnaires and interviews.…”

Influence of Long-term, Low-Dose, Diuretic-Based, Antihypertensive Therapy on Glucose, Lipid, Uric Acid, and Potassium Levels in Older Men and Women With Isolated Systolic Hypertension<subtitle>The Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program</subtitle>

“…Details of laboratory methods at the central laboratory (MetPath, Teterboro, NJ) and quality control procedures have been published. 27 Information on how often participants reported having diabetes is available for all members of the cohort as of the last examination. A participant was defined as having diabetes at baseline if (1) a history of diabetes was reported by the participant; (2) fasting serum glucose levels were 7.8 mmol/L or higher (Ն140 mg/dL); or (3) the participant reported using antidiabetic medication.…”

“…Data from SHEP are more limited in this area since only 10% of subjects reported previously diagnosed diabetes at baseline. 27 Nevertheless, lack of a major change in risk factors among subjects with the upper glucose quintile suggests that this group also did not have major adverse effects from the low doses of diuretics and supplemental ␤-blockers used in the SHEP protocol.…”

Evaluation of a mass mailing recruitment strategy to obtain a community sample of women for a clinical trial of an incontinence prevention intervention

“…A number of studies have relied on mass mailings exclusively or in combination with other recruitment strategies [6,7]. Mass mailings have the advantage that large numbers of potential participants can be contacted at reasonable costs and that an active response via a return postcard selects the more highly motivated among them [8].…”