Participant recruitment for paediatric research using social media: A practical ‘how‐to’ guide for researchers

Abstract

AimSocial media platforms are being increasingly used to support participant recruitment into paediatric health‐related research. This study aimed to develop a multi‐phase approach for using social media as a recruitment strategy for paediatric research studies.MethodsThe process was informed by the authors’ prior experiences recruiting for paediatric obesity‐related research studies, expertise in social media marketing and digital participant/ patient recruitment. Reflection on these experiences resulted in the iterative creation of a draft process which was further refined. A narrative literature review using a structured search was conducted to refine and augment the content and finalise the process.ResultsA six‐phase recruitment approach was developed that includes: (i) plan for social media use as a recruitment strategy, (ii) explore relevant ethical considerations to protect the wellbeing of potentially vulnerable groups and create an ethical management plan, (iii) identify and understand the different target audiences and develop the advertising strategy, (iv) develop and design campaign content, (v) implement, monitor and iteratively refine the recruitment campaign, (vi) evaluate the campaign success. Potential activities and key considerations relevant for paediatric research are presented within each phase.ConclusionDue to the widespread use and diverse characteristics of social media users, social media has the potential to disseminate details of research opportunities to community members who may otherwise not hear about, engage with, and potentially benefit from research participation. Researchers should collaborate with communication experts and target audiences to generate relevant and effective recruitment campaigns. Researchers should implement processes to protect vulnerable audiences’ wellbeing at each stage of the process. Recruitment via social media may support wider community participation in research studies designed to improve young people's health.

Exploring the use of social media and online methods to engage persons with lived experience and healthcare professionals in creating research agendas: Lessons from a pediatric cancer research priority-setting partnership

“…A trained graphic designer with assisted with designing the graphics for our posts, while another member of the team, who is also a childhood cancer survivor (RA), received training and supported the process by maintaining an active presence across our platforms during the campaigning period (e.g., regularly posting, engaging with comments on posts, etc.). A multi-phase social media campaigning approach was implemented, closely mirroring the framework developed by Lang et al for recruiting participants in pediatric research through social media [ 12 ]. Specifically, we: (i) planned for social media use as an engagement strategy, (ii) identified and attempted to understand the different target audiences and then developed a strategy accordingly, (iii) developed and designed campaign content, (iv) implemented, monitored and iteratively refined campaign strategies, and (v) evaluated campaign success.…”