Recruitment and Attrition Issues in Military Clinical Trials and Health Research Studies

conducting long-term multidisciplinary research projects across a range of military health issues. The plethora of individually funded studies, program grants, and multisite military health research consortia speak to the considerable national investment in the well-being of the U.S. service member. In the context of the current economic situation, maximizing efficiency through optimal human subject participation is of paramount importance to research. A range of factors, however, can contribute to less-than-ideal levels of study participation. 5 Poor recruitment and high dropout rates are not only frustrating and costly, but they also pose a threat to the interpretation, integrity, and validity of research findings. A number of articles have reported obstacles to civilian study participation and have outlined strategies for overcoming those obstacles. 5‐11 However, to the best of our knowledge, none have been devoted to the unique challenges inherent to research with military service members. In this commentary, we review the civilian literature for recruitment and retention factors that potentially may also have relevance to military populations. We then examine research study recruitment and attrition in the U.S. military, highlighting militaryspecific issues that may impact study participation. Finally, we suggest strategies for improving research participation by service members.