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Abstract: 

Population-based epidemiological studies of the elderly are surprisingly rare, for a number of logistical and morbidity-related reasons that will come as no surprise to professionals who work with older adults. Yet without such studies it is almost impossible for adult protective services and geriatric health programs to develop evidence-based clinical guidelines or field protocols. The Boston MOBILIZE study, which attempted to identify risk factors associated with falling, developed a set of study techniques and strategies for conducting research on elderly populations, and their methods, which are examined here, will be useful for any agency professional or academic researcher seeking to develop useful research data on an elderly cohort.

Keywords: recruitment barriers; materials describing participation; short description of the study’s purpose; interviewer identification; least restrictive eligibility criteria; reduce the burden and fatigue of participants

Affiliations:  1: managing editor of VED; 2: editorial assistant for VED.