Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 2, 2021
Date Accepted: Nov 23, 2021
Using Facebook Advertisements for Women’s Health Research: Methodology and Outcomes of an Observational Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Recruitment of diverse populations for health research studies remains a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges by limiting in-person recruitment efforts and placing additional demands on potential participants. Social media, through the use of Facebook advertisements, has the potential to address recruitment challenges. However, existing reports are inconsistent as to the success of this strategy. Additionally, limited information is available about processes that can be used to increase the diversity of study participants.
Objective:
A Qualtrics survey was fielded to ascertain women’s knowledge of and healthcare experiences related to breast density. This paper describes the process of using Facebook advertisements for recruitment and the effectiveness of various advertisement strategies.
Methods:
Facebook advertisements were placed in two rounds between June – July 2020. During Round 1, multiple combinations of headlines and interest terms were tested to determine the most cost-effective advertisement. The best-performing advertisement was used in Round 2 in combination with various strategies to enhance the diversity of the survey sample. Advertisement performance, cost, and survey respondent data were collected and examined.
Results:
During Round 1, forty-five advertisements with five different headlines were placed, and the average cost per link click for each headline ranged from $0.12 to $0.79. Of the 164 women recruited during Round 1, 91.62% were eligible to complete the survey. Advertisements used during recruitment Round 2 resulted in an average cost per link click of $0.11. During this round, 478 women attempted the survey, and 87.44% were eligible to participate. The majority of survey respondents were White (80.41%), over the age of 55 (63.94%), and highly educated (63.71%).
Conclusions:
Facebook advertisements can be used to recruit respondents for health research quickly, but this strategy may result in participants who are less racially diverse, more educated, and older than the general population. Researchers should consider recruiting participants through other methods in addition to creating Facebook advertisements targeting underrepresented populations. Clinical Trial: N/A
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Copyright
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