A randomized trial to assess the effect of a research informational pamphlet on telephone survey completion rates among older Latinos

Most response-inducing strategies do not increase participation in observational studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate response-inducing strategies for observational studies using health-related questionnaires or interviews.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science up to December 28, 2017. Studies evaluating the effect of a response-inducing strategy on participation rates of observational studies were included. For each strategy, we estimated pooled response ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in a Hartung-Knapp/Sidik-Jonkman random effects model with the final participation rate as outcome, stratified for type of participants and method of data collection.

RESULTS

The search yielded 168 eligible studies involving 367,616 potential participants and 33 strategies. Among patients, response-inducing strategies for paper-based questionnaires included unconditional monetary incentives (response ratio 1.15; 95% CI 1.09-1.21) and shorter questionnaires (1.04; 1.02-1.06). Among nonpatients, a personalized mode of delivery (1.47; 1.24-1.74), more expensive mailing type (1.25; 1.00-1.56), unconditional monetary incentives (1.24; 1.12-1.38), prenotification (1.12; 1.03-1.22), unconditional scratch lottery tickets (1.09; 1.01-1.18), and shorter questionnaires (1.06; 1.02-1.11) increased response rates to paper-based questionnaires. For Web-based questionnaires and interviews among nonpatients, response rates were increased by conditional lottery tickets (1.17; 1.02-1.34) and conditional monetary incentives (1.39; 1.01-1.91), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Although the majority of strategies evaluated were unsuccessful, some may increase response rates to observational studies, particularly among nonpatients.

Recruitment and baseline characteristics of the Community of Voices choir study to promote the health and well-being of diverse older adults

Objective

To describe the recruitment and baseline results of the Community of Voices study that aims to examine the effect of a community choir intervention on the health and well-being of older adults from diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Method

Using community-based participatory research methods, we recruited adults age 60 and over from 12 Administration on Aging-supported senior centers in San Francisco into a 2-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial of the community choir intervention. Multiple outreach methods were used. We tracked outreach, screening, and recruitment metrics and collected demographics and baseline outcomes via community-based, interviewer-administered surveys and performance measures of cognition, physical function, and psychosocial variables.

Results

The study contacted 819 individuals, screened 636, and enrolled 390 diverse older adults over a 42-month, phased recruitment period. The mean age was 71.2 (SD = 7.3), and the majority were women. Two-thirds of the sample are non-white, and 20% of participants reported having financial hardship.

Discussion

Outreach and recruitment methods used in the Community of Voices trial facilitated enrollment of a large proportion of minority and lower-SES older adults in the final sample. Similar recruitment approaches could serve as a model for recruiting diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic older adults into research.

'Born in Michigan? You're in the biobank': engaging population biobank participants through Facebook advertisements

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Despite a broad call for biobanks to use social media, data is lacking regarding the capacity of social media tools, especially advertising, to engage large populations on this topic.

METHODS

We used Facebook advertising to engage Michigan residents about the BioTrust for Health. We conducted a low-budget (<USD 5,000), 26-day social media campaign targeting Michigan residents aged 18-28. We placed 25 Facebook advertisements and analyzed their performance in terms of reach and cost across 3 engagement types: passive, active and interactive. We compared engagement before, during and after the campaign.

RESULTS

The Facebook page was viewed 1,249 times during the month of the advertising campaign, versus once in the month prior. 779,004 Michigan residents saw ads an average of 25.8 times; 4,275 clicked ads; the average click-through-ratio was 0.021%. Interactions included 516 'likes' and 30 photo contest entries. Cost per outcome ranged from <USD 0.005 per exposure to USD 182 per photo entry. The average cost per click was USD 1.04.

CONCLUSION

A social media strategy to build public awareness about biobanking is not likely to be effective without a promotional 'push' to distribute content. Social media advertisements have the capacity to scale-up engagement on biobanking while keeping costs manageable. Facebook advertisements provide necessary access points for unaware participants, with implications for public trust.