• Cynthia Arslanian-Engoren, Bruno J Giordani, Donna Algase, Amanda Schuh, Corinne Lee, and Debra K Moser.
• Cynthia Arslanian-Engoren is an associate professor and Donna Algase is a professor emerita, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Amanda Schuh is a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato, Minnesota. Bruno J. Giordani is a professor, Ambulatory Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Corinne Lee is an educational nurse specialist, Professional Development and Education, University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Debra K. Moser is a professor, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, Lexington, Kentucky. cmae@umich.edu.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 2016 Sep 1; 25 (5): 418-21.

BackgroundBarriers to recruiting and retaining acutely ill older adults in clinical research include complexity of illness, fatigue, and early discharge.ObjectiveTo describe recruitment and retention challenges of examining cognitive dysfunction in older adults hospitalized for acute heart failure.MethodsAn examination of the reasons for recruitment and retention issues within an acute care, university-affiliated health care system.ResultsSixty-two patients refused to participate for a variety of reasons; 11 were ineligible, and 27 participants who completed initial data collection refused to participate further because they were too tired, were being discharged on the day of data collection, or were discharged before the next data collection day.ConclusionsMultiple barriers to the recruitment and retention of older adults hospitalized for acute heart failure were identified. Strategies are needed to augment recruitment and retention efforts, including expanding the number of data collection sites and allocating sufficient support resources.©2016 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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