Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
BMC Geriatr. 2010 Sep 17;10:64. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-10-64.
Those aged 85 and over, the oldest old, are now the fastest growing sector of the population. Information on their health is essential to inform future planning; however, there is a paucity of up-to-date information on the oldest old, who are often excluded from research. The aim of the Newcastle 85+ Study is to investigate the health of a cohort of 85-year-olds from a biological, medical and psychosocial perspective. This paper describes the methods employed for the successful recruitment, retention and evaluation of this cohort.
Participants were all individuals born in 1921 and registered with a participating general practice in Newcastle and North Tyneside, UK. Involvement comprised detailed health assessments, by a nurse, in their usual place of residence and/or review of their general practice medical records.
Of the 1453 individuals eligible to participate, 72% (n = 1042) were recruited; 59% (n = 851) consented to both health assessment and review of general practice records. Key factors for successful involvement included protected time to engage with family and other key gatekeepers, minimising participant burden, through for example home based assessment, and flexibility of approach. Cognitive impairment is a significant issue; due consideration should be given to the ethical and legal issues of capacity and consent. Interim withdrawal rates at phase 2 (18 month post baseline), show 88 out of 854 participants (10%) had withdrawn with approval for continued use of data and materials and a further 2 participants (0.2%) had withdrawn and requested that all data be destroyed. Attrition due to death of participants within this same time frame was 135 (16%).
Our recruitment rates were good and compared favourably with other similar UK and international longitudinal studies of the oldest old. The challenges of and successful strategies for involving, recruiting and retaining the oldest old in research, including those in institutions, are described to facilitate adequate representation of this growing population in future research into ageing.
85 岁及以上人群，即最年长的老年人，是目前人口增长最快的群体。了解他们的健康信息对于未来的规划至关重要；然而，关于最年长的老年人的最新信息却很少，他们通常被排除在研究之外。纽卡斯尔 85+研究的目的是从生物学、医学和心理社会角度调查这一年龄段人群的健康状况。本文介绍了成功招募、保留和评估这一年龄段人群所采用的方法。
参与者均为 1921 年出生并在英国纽卡斯尔和泰恩河畔北泰因赛德的参与全科医生诊所注册的个体。参与包括由护士在其常住地进行详细的健康评估，或查看他们的全科医生医疗记录。
在符合条件的 1453 名个体中，有 72%（n=1042）被招募；59%（n=851）同意接受健康评估和查看全科医生记录。成功参与的关键因素包括有时间与家人和其他关键监护人接触，尽量减少参与者的负担，例如进行上门评估，以及灵活的方法。认知障碍是一个重大问题；应充分考虑能力和同意的伦理和法律问题。第 2 阶段（基线后 18 个月）的中期退出率显示，854 名参与者中有 88 名（10%）经批准继续使用数据和材料后退出，另有 2 名参与者（0.2%）退出并要求销毁所有数据。在同一时间框架内，由于参与者死亡而导致的退出人数为 135 人（16%）。
我们的招募率较高，与英国和国际上其他类似的最年长老年人的纵向研究相比表现良好。描述了在研究中涉及、招募和保留最年长老年人的挑战和成功策略，包括在机构中，以便在未来的老龄化研究中充分代表这一不断增长的人群。
