Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 14, 2021
Date Accepted: Dec 2, 2021
Ethical Issues in Social Media Recruitment for Clinical Studies
ABSTRACT
Background:
Social media recruitment for clinical studies holds the promise of being a cost-effective way to attract traditionally marginalized populations and promote patient engagement with researchers and a particular study.
Objective:
Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the ethical benefits and risks to be considered for social media recruitment in clinical studies and develop practical recommendations on how to implement these considerations.
Methods:
We first reviewed the conceptual and empirical literature for ethical benefits and challenges related to social media recruitment.
Results:
From these, we derived three criteria to be evaluated and assessed a priori to decide the eligibility of social media recruitment for clinical studies: information and consent, risks for target groups, and recruitment effectiveness. We then discuss the practical implications of these criteria for researchers.
Conclusions:
Social media based recrutiment is a highly context-sensitive form of clinical study recruitment. Its eligibility vastly depends upon information and consent, risks for target groups, and the potential recruitment effectiveness.
Citation
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Copyright
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