Mai Frandsen

Exploring the Viability of Using Online Social Media Advertising as a Recruitment Method for Smoking Cessation Clinical Trials

INTRODUCTION The aim of the present study was to explore the viability of using social media as a recruitment tool in a clinical research trial. Sociodemographic data and smoking characteristics were assessed in 266 participants recruited to investigate the effectiveness of a behavioral support program for smoking cessation. METHODS For analysis, participants were separated into 2 groups based on whether they were recruited either using traditional means (flyers, word of mouth, or newspaper advertisement; n = 125, 47.0%) or by advertisements in online social media (n = 138, 51.9%). RESULTS Participants recruited via social media were significantly younger, but there were no differences in other socioeconomic variables or smoking characteristics compared with participants recruited via other traditional means. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the present study suggest that using online social media is a viable recruitment method for smoking studies and compliments other more traditional recruitment methods.

Compliance with an EMA monitoring protocol and its relationship with participant and smoking characteristics.

INTRODUCTION Arguably, the greatest advantage of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies is that data are collected repeatedly in real-time and real-world situations, which reduces recall and situational biases and thus improves the accuracy and validity of the data collected. However, the validity of EMA data is contingent upon compliance rates. If participant characteristics are related to missing data, analyses should control for these factors, or they should be targeted in EMA training sessions. This study evaluates the impact of demographic and smoking-related participant characteristics on compliance to an EMA smoking study protocol. METHODS Prequit-day data were taken from the control arm of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a smoking-cessation program. After training, 119 participants were asked to carry a mobile device with them at all times for ~6 days and to log every cigarette they smoked in addition to completing randomly scheduled assessments. Different types of compliance were assessed: the percentage of completed random prompts (signal-contingent compliance), the percentage of logged cigarettes per day compared to a timeline follow-back measure, and the correlation between logged cigarettes and a carbon monoxide assessment 2 hr later (both event-contingent compliance). RESULTS Overall compliance rates were 78.48% for event-contingent and 72.17% for signal-contingent compliance. None of the demographic or smoking-related participant characteristics predicted signal-contingent compliance; however, female participants showed higher event-contingent compliance than male participants, and Caucasian participants showed higher event-contingent compliance than non-Caucasian participants. CONCLUSIONS Compliance did not depend on smoking-related characteristics. EMA is a valid method for assessing smoking behavior in real-time and real-world settings.

The Effectiveness Of Social Media (Facebook) Compared With More Traditional Advertising Methods for Recruiting Eligible Participants To Health Research Studies: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background Recruiting participants for research studies can be difficult and costly. The popularity of social media platforms (eg, Facebook) has seen corresponding growth in the number of researchers turning to social networking sites and their embedded advertising frameworks to locate eligible participants for studies. Compared with traditional recruitment strategies such as print media, social media advertising has been shown to be favorable in terms of its reach (especially with hard-to-reach populations), cost effectiveness, and usability. However, to date, no studies have examined how participants recruited via social media progress through a study compared with those recruited using more traditional recruitment strategies. Objectives (1) Examine whether visiting the study website prior to being contacted by researchers creates self-screened participants who are more likely to progress through all study phases (eligible, enrolled, completed); (2) compare conversion percentages and cost effectiveness of each recruitment method at each study phase; and, (3) compare demographic and smoking characteristics of participants recruited through each strategy to determine if they attract similar samples. Methods Participants recruited to a smoking cessation clinical trial were grouped by how they had become aware of the study: via social media (Facebook) or traditional media (eg, newspaper, flyers, radio, word of mouth). Groups were compared based on throughput data (conversion percentages and cost) as well as demographic and smoking characteristics. Results Visiting the study website did not result in individuals who were more likely to be eligible for (P=.24), enroll in (P=.20), or complete (P=.25) the study. While using social media was more cost effective than traditional methods when we examined earlier endpoints of the recruitment process (cost to obtain a screened respondent: AUD

Using Self-affirmation to Increase the Effects of Emotive Health Warnings on Smoking: A Randomized Exploratory Trial.

22.73 vs

Symptoms and their recognition in adult haemodialysis patients: interactions with quality of life

29.35; cost to obtain an eligible respondent:

Associations between use of pharmacological aids in a smoking cessation attempt and subsequent quitting activity: a population study

37.56 vs

Profile of Maternal Smokers Who Quit During Pregnancy: A Population-Based Cohort Study of Tasmanian Women, 2011–2013

44.77), it was less cost effective in later endpoints (cost per enrolled participant:

A Clinical Overview of Nicotine Dependence and Withdrawal

56.34 vs

Prevalence of asthma and allergic disorders in regional, rural, and indigenous children aged 6–8 years in Tasmania

52.33; cost per completed participant:

Australian women’s experiences of smoking, cessation and ‘cutting down’ during pregnancy

103.66 vs