A Diversified Recruitment Approach Incorporating Social Media Leads to Research Participation Among Young Adult-Aged Female Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Purpose: Cancer survivors in their adolescent and young adult (AYA) years are an understudied population, possibly in part because of the high effort required to recruit them into research studies. The aim of this paper is to describe the specific recruitment strategies used in four studies recruiting AYA-aged female cancer survivors and to identify the highest yielding approaches. We also discuss challenges and recommendations. Methods: We recruited AYA-aged female cancer survivors for two studies conducted locally and two conducted nationally. Recruitment strategies included outreach and referral via: healthcare providers and clinics; social media and the internet; community and word of mouth; and a national fertility information hotline. We calculated the yield of each recruitment approach for the local and national studies by comparing the number that participated to the number of potential participants. Results: We recruited a total of 534 participants into four research studies. Seventy-one percent were diagnosed as young adults and 61% were within 3 years of their cancer diagnosis. The highest-yielding local recruitment strategy was healthcare provider and clinic referral. Nationally, social media and internet outreach yielded the highest rate of participation. Overall, internet-based recruitment resulted in the highest number and yield of participants. Conclusion: Our results suggest that outreach through social media and the internet are effective approaches to recruiting AYA-aged female cancer survivors. Forging collaborative relationships with survivor advocacy groups' members and healthcare providers also proved beneficial.

Contraceptive Practices Among Female Cancer Survivors of Reproductive Age

“…Participants were recruited through referrals from diverse sources: social media outreach by cancer advocacy groups (60%), six university-based fertility preservation programs (26%), FERTLINE—the Oncofertility Consortium’s telephone hotline (6%), community outreach, or word of mouth (8%). 16 Between May 2011 and February 2013, 352 female survivors ages 18–44 years were approached; 295 survivors were enrolled from 44 states (85% response rate). The institutional review board at University of California, San Diego approved this study.…”

The Future of Clinical Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine

“…Websites are increasingly being used to provide study information to investigators and patients. More recently, Internet and social media platforms, including social networks like Facebook, have been used to recruit patients, [46][47][48] and emails and text messaging have been used to remind patients of study visits, improving retention of patients. 49 As the demographics of social network users changes, these platforms will become even more viable as a method for recruiting and following trial subjects.…”

An Online Gratitude Intervention for Young Adults with Advanced Cancer

“…The current literature suggests that using paid advertising on social network sites frequented by young adults is an effective way to bring these patients into research (Akard et al, 2015;Gorman et al, 2014;Ramo et al, 2014). The MyGratefulSelf study expands on this existing literature demonstrating that joining and engaging in these virtual communities is also an effective way to recruit young adults into behavioral research, without spending thousands of dollars.…”

“…With the emergence of young adults as a distinct population with unique disease biology and psychosocial needs, more interest has developed in increasing their participation in clinical research and designing research projects addressing the specific needs of the young adult oncology population (Bleyer & Barr, 2009;D'Agostino et al, 2011;Zebrack, Mathews-Bradshaw, & Siegel, 2010). With the comfort level and current Internet usage of young adults with cancer, some research suggests that using online recruitment via social media may yield increased participation rates from young adults (Cantrell et al, 2012;Gorman et al, 2014). Reasons for this include breaking barriers of access and information sharing, and providing an age-targeted advertisement space (Cantrell et al, 2012).…”

“…Based on previous studies that reported successful recruitment using social media (Akard, Wray, & Gilmer, 2015;Gorman et al, 2014;O'Connor, Jackson, Goldsmith, & Skirton, 2014;Ramo, Rodriguez, Chavez, Sommer, & Prochaska, 2014), researchers attempted to create an online presence for the MyGratefulSelf study prior to the recruitment period, with some success. Researchers were able to interact with some potential participants and other key stakeholders prior to the official opening of recruitment and there was some awareness of the study online prior to the beginning of recruitment.…”