Maintaining Long-Term Study Engagement with Young People Experiencing Homelessness

Maintaining Long-Term Study Engagement with Young People Experiencing Homelessness

Published: Jan 29, 2025
Publisher: Mathematica
Download
Authors

Rhiannon Jones

Rachel Sutton-Heisey

Je’Lia Russell

Sarah Berger Gonzalez

Amanda M. Griffin

Key Findings
  • The New York City Pathways Study achieved an overall survey response rate of 82% on monthly surveys conducted over a 30-month study.
  • Key strategies to engage young people experiencing homelessness included: (1) keeping young people’s contact information current, including chosen and legal names; (2) maintaining consistent communication, including data collection periods and incentives; and (3) providing reliable support across multiple platforms and in person.
  • These strategies encouraged sustained long-term engagement, which led to (1) high response rates, (2) high-quality data, (3) positive impacts on young people, (4) balanced data collection costs, and (5) reengagement through multimode outreach.
  • The success of these strategies provides valuable insights for future longitudinal studies that include under-engaged populations to build upon.

This brief draws on experiences from the New York City (NYC) Pathways Study, conducted between March 2022 and October 2024. The brief shares methods the study’s data collection team implemented to sustain long-term engagement with study participants—young people experiencing homelessness.

The Pathways Study population is frequently under-engaged in research due to their housing instability. Although the NYC Pathways Study focuses specifically on young people experiencing homelessness, the strategies highlighted in this brief can be applied more broadly to maintain retention for long-term study participants from other under-engaged populations.

How do you apply evidence?

Take our quick four-question survey to help us curate evidence and insights that serve you.

Take our survey