Recruiting adolescent girls into a follow-up study: Benefits of using a social networking website

Abstract

Background Recruitment and retention of adolescent research participants presents unique challenges and considerations when conducting epidemiological studies. Purpose To describe the use of the social networking website in the re-recruitment and tracking of adolescent girls into a follow-up study of the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) at the University of Maryland field site. Methods 730 girls were recruited as 8th graders into TAAG. Re-recruitment efforts were conducted when they were 11th graders (TAAG 2). Traditional methods, including mailings and school visits, were conducted. A TAAG 2 Facebook site was created to search for girls not found through traditional recruitment methods. Chi-square and t-tests were conducted to identify differences in characteristics between those found and “friended” through Facebook and through traditional recruitment methods. Results There were 175 girls we were unable to locate using traditional recruitment methods. Of these, 78 were found on Facebook, 68 responded to our friend request, and 43 girls (6% of the girls previously recruited) participated in the study. Demographic data were similar for those who friended us on Facebook and traditional methods. 8th grade body mass index and percent body fat were lower for those recruited from Facebook (p = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively). Number of daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity tended to be lower among the TAAG 2 Facebook friends (19 ± 11 vs 21 ± 11, p = 0.06). Conclusions Loss to follow-up was minimized by contacting potential participants through Facebook. Social networking websites are a promising method to recruit adolescents.

Facebook as a Recruitment Tool for Adolescent Health Research: A Systematic Review

“…26,27,29,32 Hilton and Smith used newspaper advertisements and posters, leaflets and adverts placed in educational, community and leisure and sports facilities. Youth group leaders and community members were also used to supply information to potential participants.…”

“…Researchers invited participants to complete the survey at the study site to assess the proportion of young females who would travel to participate in a study. In another study, 29 monetary compensation of $USD75.00 was provided for participants who completed additional body composition measurements.…”

“…Fenner et al 28 and Jones et al 29 were the best examples providing detailed accounts of their use and experience with Facebook as a recruitment tool. During the review, three key modes of Facebook used for recruitment was identified; 1) paid advertising, 2)…”

“…29 A research Facebook profile was created using the contact details of the recruitment coordinator with a picture of the study"s logo as the profile picture. Using this profile, researchers used the participant"s name, high school graduation year, and geographic location to search for users.…”

Recruitment of adolescents for a smoking study: use of traditional strategies and social media

“…Mass mailings are often expensive and do not always reach the intended target audience. Given these concerns and with the growth in use and access to technology, research studies are turning toward Web-based recruitment methods, particularly among studies recruiting youth and young adult populations (e.g., [1,5,7,12,15]). …”