1. Megan Kunze, Buket Erturk, Sloan O’Malley Storie, & Tasia L. Brafford
 Recruitment and Retention of Ethnically Diverse Participants in Early Intervention Research 
Megan Kunze, Buket Erturk, Sloan O’Malley Storie, & Tasia L. Brafford
Shared Moments: Generalization of Parent-Implemented Joint Attention Intervention for Young Children with Autism
Introduction
results
Table 1. Participant Demographics Across Research Studies.
There is a growing need for culturally appropriate EI/ECSE services as society becomes increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Despite increasing diversity, there is a lack of research evaluating the use of evidence-based practices (EBP) with diverse populations (Huey & Polo, 2008), slowing the dissemination and validation of EBPs (Dingfelder & Mandell, 2011). In EI/ECSE, caregiver involvement is crucial (Odom & Wolery, 2003), with caregiver coaching as an essential component. Recruiting and retaining diverse participant families requires additional effort (Ratto et. al., 2016).
84% of EI articles reported recruitment strategies (n = 26) 61% of EI articles reported retention strategies (n = 19) Family SES was reported in three ways: as income (45%), descriptively (14%), or as Hollingshead index (14%). Payment offered for transportation costs in two studies. No studies reported provision of transport as a retention strategy. The majority of articles (76%) did not report or were unclear on the participant families’ home language, while 41% of the articles did not report the language in which the study was provided. Of the studies that did report family language, 21% of families spoke a language other than English and 24% of the studies provided the option to implement the study in a language other than English. Less than half (41%) of the articles used strategies to culturally adapt their intervention. However, majority of the articles did not report what strategies were used. The cumulative number of participants screened for all 29 studies included (n = 22,589), 41% met eligibility criteria (n = 9,329). Of the participants eligible, only 28% completed a research study (n = 2644). The most frequently used interventions were Parent-child Interaction Therapy (n = 5) and Behavioral Parent Training (n = 3). IOA of 72.02% across all variables for 34% of articles.
Figure 1. Number of reported reasons of drop out in the reviewed studies.
Research questions
1. What strategies have researchers reported to recruit and retain ethnically and economically diverse participants in caregiver education and coaching targeting young children with, or at risk for, disabilities and their families? 
2. Are there opportunities for cross fertilization from recruitment and retention strategies used in disruptive behavior caregiver intervention research to improve recruitment and retention of families in autism/developmental disability caregiver training research? 
Note. Percentage of studies indicates the ratio of studies reporting at least one participant in the specific category in relation to the total number of studies (n = 29). Low- or under-resourced status determined by authors’ description or an income of $20,000 or below.
Figure 2. Number of cultural adaptation strategies in the reviewed studies.
Discussion
Method
Table 2. Retention and Recruitment Strategies Reported in Reviewed Studies.
It has become common practice to report on the recruitment of participants in research, though similar weight has not been provided on retention of these participants. The discrepancy between number of families screened and number of families meeting criteria is high. The difference in the number of those families who consent and who complete a study is even greater. Is research meeting needs of larger population concerns and issues?
Various retention strategies are reported, but not identified as culturally adapted. Could particular retention strategies lead to lower drop out rates?
Consistency in reporting the demographic characteristics would allow for interpretation across studies on the utility of an intervention for a specific population. Should a particular reporting measure be recommended?
Consideration for length, intensity and response effort of interventions may impact retention. Could intervention length and response effort correlate to drop out and retention?
Systematic review of literature was conducted through electronic data bases (i.e., PsycInfo, MedLine).
Inclusion criteria were:
Published between
Parent training/coaching in behavioral interventions for at least one participant with, or at risk for, disabilities between the ages of zero to 8
Experimental or quasi-experimental design
Publication in an English language peer-reviewed journal in the U.S.
Behavioral intervention: Demonstration of a functional relation between the manipulated events and a reliable change in some measureable dimension of the target behavior. The behavior of interest must be a behavior in need of improvement, directly observed and clearly defined (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).
Diversity: Gibson (1991) “subordinate position in a multiethnic society, suffering from the disabilities of prejudice and discrimination, and maintaining a separate group identity (p. 358).
Retention Strategies
Recruitment Strategies
Money or gift cards
Free services or childcare
Educational materials
Flexible scheduling
Reminders
Not reported
School 8 3 2 1
Direct referral
Community agencies or setting 5
Physicians or service providers 4
Flyers or mailings 6
Workshops or open house
Self-referral
Trusted person
Word-of-mouth
Radio or newspaper
University clinic or faculty
Online or social media
Child Protective Services
Note. Cells include the number of studies reporting the corresponding retention and recruitment strategies. Free services included therapy, motivational interviewing, or childcare.
This poster developed as part of larger project, with all authors contributing equally:
Machalicek, W., Storie, S. O., Brafford, T. L., Erturk, B., Kunze, M., Drew, C., Douglas, A., Crowe, B., Glugatch, L., & Magaña, S. (in preparation). Recruitment of ethnically diverse participants in autism intervention research: A cross over review from public health.