McDonald published in Neurotoxicology and Teratology

Congratulations to Ryan McDonald, MD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, who recently co-authored an article published in Neurotoxicology and Teratology!

The paper “Recruitment and retention of pregnant women in prospective birth cohort studies: A scoping review and content analysis of the literature” sought to review the literature for best practices for recruiting a cohort of pregnant women.

“The purpose of this scoping review was to map the literature by comprehensively identifying and analyzing the existing knowledge on recruitment and retention of pregnant women in birth cohort studies. As a result, we were able to present a large and diverse body of literature that identified key concepts as well as gaps in the research, such as longitudinal studies reporting on retention practices that engage pregnant women in research beyond their pregnancy. Recruitment and retention efforts can be costly and labor-intensive, yet worthwhile in obtaining the long-term commitment of study participants and critically important in achieving sustainability and study success.”

The paper offers a set of recommendations and best practices for recruitment and retention of pregnant women in birth cohort studies, which offers great value in planning and implementation of studies in this population. 

Read the whole study here. Incredible work, Dr. McDonald!