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BackgroundSocial media is a popular online tool that allows users to communicate and exchange information. It allows digital content such as pictures, videos and websites to be shared, discussed, republished and endorsed by its users, their friends and businesses. Adverts can be posted and promoted to specific target audiences by demographics such as region, age or gender. Recruiting for health research is complex with strict requirement criteria imposed on the participants. Traditional research recruitment relies on flyers, newspaper adverts, radio and television broadcasts, letters, emails, website listings, and word of mouth. These methods are potentially poor at recruiting hard to reach demographics, can be slow and expensive. Recruitment via social media, in particular Facebook, may be faster and cheaper.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding the current use and success of Facebook to recruit participants for health research purposes.MethodsA literature review was completed in March 2017 in the English language using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycInfo, Google Scholar, and a hand search of article references. Papers from the past 12 years were included and number of participants, recruitment period, number of impressions, cost per click or participant, and conversion rate extracted.ResultsA total of 35 studies were identified from the United States (n=22), Australia (n=9), Canada (n=2), Japan (n=1), and Germany (n=1) and appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. All focused on the feasibility of recruitment via Facebook, with some (n=10) also testing interventions, such as smoking cessation and depression reduction. Most recruited young age groups (16-24 years), with the remaining targeting specific demographics, for example, military veterans. Information from the 35 studies was analyzed with median values being 264 recruited participants, a 3-month recruitment period, 3.3 million impressions, cost per click of US $0.51, conversion rate of 4% (range 0.06-29.50), eligibility of 61% (range 17-100), and cost per participant of US $14.41. The studies showed success in penetrating hard to reach populations, finding the results representative of their control or comparison demographic, except for an over representation of young white women.ConclusionsThere is growing evidence to suggest that Facebook is a useful recruitment tool and its use, therefore, should be considered when implementing future health research. When compared with traditional recruitment methods (print, radio, television, and email), benefits include reduced costs, shorter recruitment periods, better representation, and improved participant selection in young and hard to reach demographics. It however, remains limited by Internet access and the over representation of young white women. Future studies should recruit across all ages and explore recruitment via other forms of social media.

Background-It has been suggested that the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), is three or more times higher in northern than in southern Europe. The aim of this EC funded study was to investigage this apparent variation by ascertaining the incidence of IBD across Europe. Methods-For the period 1 October 1991 to 30 September 1993 all new patients diagnosed with IBD were prospectively identified in 20 European centres according to a standard protocol for case ascertainment and definition. Findings-Altogether 2201 patients aged 15 years or more were identified, of whom 1379 were diagnosed as UC (including proctitis), 706 as CD, and 116 as indeterminate. The overall incidence per 100000 at ages 15-64 years (standardised for age and sex) of UC was 10.4 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 7.6 to 13.1) and that of CD was 5.6 (95% CI 2.8 to 8.3). Rates of UC in northern centres were 40% higher than those in the south (rate ratio (RR)=1.4 (95% CI 1-2 to 1.5)) and for CD they were 80% higher (RR=1.8 (95% CI 1.5 to 2.1)). For UC the highest reported incidence was in Iceland (24.5, 95% CI 17.4 to 31.5) and for CD, Maastricht (The Netherlands; 9.2, 95% CI 6.5 to 11.8) and Amiens (north west France; 9.2, 95% CI 6.3 to 12.2). The lowest incidence of UC was in Almada (southern Portugal) (1.6, 95% CI 0.0 to 3.2) and of CD in Ioannina (north west Greece) (0.9, 95% CI 0.0 to 2.2). An unexpected finding was a difference in the age specific incidence of UC in men and women with the incidence in women but not men declining with age. Interpretation-The higher overall incidence rates in northern centres did not seem to be explained by differences in tobacco consumption or education. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the observed excess for both conditions is less than expected on the basis of previous studies. This may reflect recent increases in the incidence of IBD in southern Europe whereas those in the north may have stabilised.

Background-Understanding the factors which increase the risk of PTSD for military personnel is important. This study aims to investigate the relative contribution of pre-deployment, perideployment, and post deployment variables to the prevalence of post traumatic stress symptoms in UK Armed Forces personnel who have been deployed in Iraq since 2003.