The influence of social media on recruitment to surgical trials

Abstract

Background: Social media has changed the way surgeons communicate worldwide, particularly in dissemination of trial results. However, it is unclear if social media could be used in recruitment to surgical trials. This study aimed to investigate the influence of Twitter in promoting surgical recruitment in The Emergency Laparotomy and Frailty (ELF) Study. Methods: The ELF Study was a UK-based, prospective, observational cohort that aimed to assess the influence of frailty on 90-day mortality in older adults undergoing emergency surgery. A power calculation required 500 patients to be recruited to detect a 10% change in mortality associated with frailty. A 12-week recruitment period was selected, calculated from information submitted by participating hospitals and the numbers of emergency surgeries performed in adults aged > 65 years. A Twitter handle was designed (@ELFStudy) with eye-catching logos to encourage enrolment and inform the public and clinicians involved in the study. Twitter Analytics and Twitonomy (Digonomy Pty Ltd) were used to analyse user engagement in relation to patient recruitment. Results: After 90 days of data collection, 49 sites from Scotland, England and Wales recruited 952 consecutive patients undergoing emergency laparotomy, with data logged into a database created on REDCap. Target recruitment (n = 500) was achieved by week 11. A total of 591 tweets were published by @ELFStudy since its conception, making 218,136 impressions at time of writing. The number of impressions (number of times users see a particular tweet) prior to March 20th 2017 (study commencement date) was 23,335 (343.2 per tweet), compared to the recruitment period with 114,314 impressions (256.3 per tweet), ending June 20th 2017. Each additional tweet was associated with an increase in recruitment of 1.66 (95%CI 1.36 to 1.97; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The ELF Study over-recruited by nearly 100%, reaching over 200,000 people across the U.K. Branding enhanced tweet aesthetics and helped increase tweet engagement to stimulate discussion and healthy competition amongst clinicians to aid trial recruitment. Other studies may draw from the social media experiences of the ELF Study to optimise collaboration amongst researchers.

Use of Twitter in Neurology: Boon or Bane?

“…The Emergency Laparotomy and Frailty (ELF) study achieved a target enrollment of 500 participants by utilizing a Twitter handle (@ELFStudy) and eye-catching logos on its Twitter profile [ 6 ].…”

“…1. The Emergency Laparotomy and Frailty (ELF) study achieved a target enrollment of 500 participants by utilizing a Twitter handle (@ELFStudy) and eye-catching logos on its Twitter profile [6]. 2. The AVERT DOSE trial (@AVERTDOSEtrial) posts regular updates on their work evaluating rehabilitation after stroke via their Twitter profile [7], ensuring sustained visibility.…”

Comparison of Web‐Based Advertising and a Social Media Platform as Recruitment Tools for Underserved and Hard‐to‐Reach Populations in Rheumatology Clinical Research

“…Some investigators have started to use web‐based and social media–based advertising for participant recruitment (16–25). Facebook and other social media platforms have a robust advertising architecture that allows targeting of specific user groups (26).…”

“…However, identifying and recruiting these individuals is time consuming and resource intensive, especially because these individuals may not present to clinical care because they do not yet have inflammatory arthritis. Some investigators have started to use web-based and social media-based advertising for participant recruitment (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Facebook and other social media platforms have a robust advertising architecture that allows targeting of specific user groups (26).…”

“…Facebook and other social media platforms have a robust advertising architecture that allows targeting of specific user groups (26). Studies of social media advertising show promising results, but these studies focused primarily on public health measures or common diseases (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Very little information is available on the effectiveness of these advertisements in research of rheumatologic diseases (27,28).…”