• Lixin Song, Yousef Qan'ir, Ting Guan, Peiran Guo, Shenmeng Xu, Ahrang Jung, Eno Idiagbonya, Fengyu Song, and Erin Elizabeth Kent.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. Electronic address: lsong@unc.edu.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Sep 1; 62 (3): e279e304e279-e304.

ContextPsychosocial behavioral interventions (PBIs) that target patients with cancer and their caregivers face challenges in participant enrollment and retention.Objectives1) Describe characteristics of the patient-caregiver PBI studies; 2) examine participant enrollment and retention rates; 3) identify factors influencing participant enrollment and retention rates; and 4) explore the strategies to promote enrollment and retention rates.MethodsWe identified randomized controlled trials that tested PBIs among adult patients with cancer and caregivers in five electronic databases. We conducted narrative and quantitative analyses to synthesize our findings.ResultsAmong 55 qualified studies reviewed, most tested the efficacy of PBIs (n = 42) and used two study arms (n = 48). In-person meeting was the most common PBI delivery mode. The primary outcomes included quality of life, physical health, and symptoms. The average of enrollment rates of patient-caregiver dyads was 33% across studies (range 8%-100%; median = 23%). The average retention rate at the end of follow-ups was 69% (range 16%-100%; median = 70%). The number of study arms, recruitment method, type of patient-caregiver relationship, and intervention duration influenced enrollment rates. Study design (efficacy vs. pilot), follow-up duration, mode of delivery, type of relationship, and intervention duration influenced retention rates. Sixteen studies reported retention strategies, including providing money/gift cards upon study completion and/or after follow-up survey, and excluding patients with advanced cancer.ConclusionResearchers need to incorporate effective strategies to optimize enrollment and retention in patient-caregiver PBI trials. Researchers need to report detailed study processes and PBI information to improve research transparency and increase consistency.Copyright © 2021 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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