ArticlePloS one2015
Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Social media recruitment for mental health research: A systematic review.Comprehensive psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Peer Mentors for People with Advanced Cancer: Lessons Learnt from Recruiting and Training Peer Mentors for a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2021Trial
- Trial
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- Young adults' perceptions of food classification criteria and barriers to healthy eating: a qualitative inquiry from eight Indian metropolises.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Urban Indian young adults' perceptions of a healthy lifestyle and its associated factors: a multi-city qualitative inquiry using thematic analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- National Emergency Bariatric Surgical Audit (NEBSA): a protocol for a multi-center prospective study of unplanned interventions following emergency bariatric surgery.International journal of surgery protocols · 2025Article
- Perceptions of Executive Decision Makers on Using Social Media in Effective Health Communication: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Association of Social Media Recruitment and Depression Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Candidates: Prospective Cohort Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- Where Do Oncology Patients Seek and Share Health Information? Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- A community health worker led approach to cardiovascular disease prevention in the UK-SPICES-Sussex (scaling-up packages of interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention in selected sites in Europe and Sub-saharan Africa): an implementation research project.Frontiers in health services · 2024Article
- A qualitative study on tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon: Waterpipe and cigarette smokers' views, risk perceptions, and behaviors.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2024Article
- Understanding Determinants of Electronic Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Product Use among Young Adults in Lebanon: Prevention and Policy Implications.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Promoting the Participation of "Hard-to-Reach" Migrant Populations in Qualitative Public Health Research during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chile.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- "It's a lot more complicated than it seems": physiotherapists' experiences of using compensation strategies in people with Parkinson's.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2023Article
- Knowledge and Attitudes of Saudi Medical Students about Emergency Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Using Social Media for Clinical Research: Recommendations and Examples From the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Facebook recruitment for research of children and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.Applied nursing research : ANR · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsA substantial challenge facing multicentre audit and research projects is timely recruitment of collaborators and their study centres. Cost-effective strategies are required and fee-free social media has previously been identified as a potential conduit. We investigated and evaluated the effectiveness of a novel multi-format social media and Internet strategy for targeted recruitment to a national multicentre cohort study.
methodsInterventions involved a new Twitter account, including weekly live question-and-answer sessions, a new Facebook group page, online YouTube presentations and an information page on a national association website. Link tracking analysis was undertaken using Google Analytics, which was then related to subsequent registration. Social influence was calculated using the proprietary Klout score.
resultsInternet traffic analysis identified a total of 1562 unique registration site views, of which 285 originated from social media (18.2%). Some 528 unique registrations were received, with 96 via social media platforms (18.2%). Traffic source analysis identified a separate national association webpage as resulting in the majority of registration page views (15.8%), followed by Facebook (11.9%), Twitter (4.8%) and YouTube (1.5%). A combination of publicity through Facebook, Twitter and the dedicated national association webpage contributed to the greatest rise in registration traffic and accounted for 312 (48%) of the total registrations within a 2-week period. A Twitter 'social influence' (Klout) score of 42/100 was obtained during this period.
conclusionsTargeted social media substantially aided study dissemination and collaborator recruitment. It acted as an adjunct to traditional methods, accounting for 18.2% of collaborator registration in a short time period with no associated financial costs. We provide a practical model for designing future recruitment campaigns, and recommend Facebook, Twitter and targeted websites as the most effective adjuncts for maximising cost-effective study recruitment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.