Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America: Use of Web-Based Methods for Follow-Up and Collection of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Background: A key challenge for longitudinal cohort studies is follow-up and retention of study participants. Participant follow-up in longitudinal cohort studies is costly and time-consuming for research staff and participants. Objective: This study determined the feasibility and costs of using Web-based technologies for follow-up and collection of patient-reported outcomes in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study. Methods: The MASALA study is a community-based cohort of 906 South Asians in the United States. Since the baseline in-person visits (2010-2013), a yearly telephone follow-up survey was used to assess participants' health status and incidence of cardiovascular disease. A Web-based version of the follow-up survey was developed using the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) Web app. Participants from the Chicago field center who were due for their annual follow-up and who had a valid email address were sent an email link to a secure online portal where they could complete the survey. Telephone follow-up was used with nonresponders. Results: A link to the Web survey was emailed to 285 participants (February to October 2014) and the overall completion rate was 47.7% (136/285). One-third of participants who were unresponsive (n=36) to annual telephone follow-up completed the Web survey. Web responders were younger, more likely to be married, and to have higher education and income compared (P<.05) to telephone-only responders. Web survey development involved 240 hours of research staff time. Since launching, the Web-based survey has required 3 hours per week of staff time. Conclusions: Although electronic follow-up will not be a panacea for cohort operations, it will serve as an adjunctive strategy to telephonic follow-up for maximizing cohort retention with lower costs.