Background Facebook (FB) has been widely used recently to recruit participants for adult health research. However, little is known about its effectiveness, cost, and the characteristics of participants recruited via FB when compared to other recruitment methods. Objectives The purpose of this integrative review was to examine the published evidence concerning the use of FB in participant recruitment for adult health research, as compared to other social media, online, and traditional recruitment methods. Methods In this integrative review, we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were the electronic databases used to identify the published articles. In regard to language, the search was limited. Results The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of using FB for recruitment in healthcare research as compared to more traditional forms of recruitment remain unclear. Reporting of recruitment strategies is inconsistent, and costs are often not included. FB is being used for recruitment frequently with other methods and, although often effective, can be costly. Discussion FB is used to recruit participants for a variety of studies, with researchers using both free and paid ads to reach potential participants. Reporting of recruitment methods needs to be more rigorous, streamlined, and standardized in scientific papers.

BackgroundDespite a body of evidence on racial/ethnic minority enrollment and retention in research, literature specifically focused on recruiting racially/ethnically diverse older adults for social science studies is limited. There is a need for more rigorous research on methodological issues and the efficacy of recruitment methods. Cultural obstacles to recruitment of racial/ethnic minority older adults include language barriers, lack of cultural sensitivity of target communities on the part of researchers, and culturally inappropriate assessment tools.MethodsGuided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this study critically appraised the recruitment of racial/ethnic minority older adults for focus groups. The initial approach involved using the physical and social infrastructure of the ElderSmile network, a community-based initiative to promote oral and general health and conduct health screenings in places where older adults gather, to recruit racial/ethnic minority adults for a social science component of an interdisciplinary initiative. The process involved planning a recruitment strategy, engaging the individuals involved in its implementation (opinion leaders in senior centers, program staff as implementation leaders, senior community-based colleagues as champions, and motivated center directors as change agents), executing the recruitment plan, and reflecting on the process of implementation.ResultsWhile the recruitment phase of the study was delayed by 6 months to allow for ongoing recruitment and filling of focus group slots, the flexibility of the recruitment plan, the expertise of the research team members, the perseverance of the recruitment staff, and the cultivation of change agents ultimately resulted in meeting the study targets for enrollment in terms of both numbers of focus group discussions (n = 24) and numbers of participants (n = 194).ConclusionsThis study adds to the literature in two important ways. First, we leveraged the social and physical infrastructure of an existing program to recruit participants through community sites where older adults gather. Second, we used the CFIR to guide the appraisal of the recruitment process, which underscored important considerations for both reaching and engaging this underserved population. This was especially true in terms of understanding the disparate roles of the individuals involved in implementing and facilitating the recruitment plan.

Objective: To examine the mouth and body knowledge, beliefs and behaviours of Dominican, Puerto Rican and African American older adults, and their relationships to oral and general health and health care. Background: In his seminal framework, Handwerker posited that the norms, attitudes and behaviours related to the experience of disease and treatment reflect where patients live and have lived and are seeking and have sought care, along with their webs of social and health relations. This framework guides the analysis for the present study, wherein qualitative data are used to understand mouth and body knowledge, beliefs and behaviours among racial/ethnic minority older adults, ie, why individuals do what they do and what it means to them. Materials and methods: Focus groups were conducted in Spanish or English with 194 racial/ethnic minority older adults living in northern Manhattan who participated in one of 24 focus group sessions about improving oral health. All groups were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English from Spanish, where apt. Analysis involved the classification of evidence from all datasets, organised to identify patterns and relationships. Results: Four themes were manifest in the data regarding cultural understandings of the mouth, the body and health: (a) the ageing mouth and its components; (b) the mouth in relation to the body, health and disease; (c) social meanings of the mouth; and (d) care of the ageing mouth. Conclusion: Underserved older adults from diverse cultural backgrounds understand the importance of their mouths to both their overall health and social lives.

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