Facebook Recruitment and the Protection of Human Subjects

Challenges and Opportunities in Recruiting Research Participants Using Facebook: Lessons Learned from an Exemplar Study

BACKGROUND

Facebook is a prominent social medial platform frequently used for business marketing. Researchers are starting to recognize the utility of this platform for developing research awareness, information dissemination, and more recently participant recruitment.

PURPOSE

This paper will provide an overview of methods used in Facebook recruitment through an exemplar study. It will highlight successes and challenges and provide insight into future opportunities for its' use.

METHODS

Two methods of Facebook recruitment are outlined in this paper: the use of Facebook groups and paid advertising. A step-by-step guide highlights how researchers can implement these specific methods of Facebook recruitment.

RESULTS

Facebook was successfully utilized to recruit participants in the exemplar study. Recruitment was completed over a period of 82 days with a total cost of $157.09 Canadian dollars.

CONCLUSION

Facebook is a viable method of recruiting research participants. This method can be cost-effective, timely, and efficient in comparison to traditional research recruitment methods. However, one must balance the benefits and challenges of this type of recruitment.

Low-Cost Recruitment Approach: Utilizing Facebook Groups to Recruit COVID-19 Long-Haulers

Introduction

The accessibility of social media (e.g., Facebook groups) presents long-haulers with the ability to connect with others with similar experiences and symptomology that are likely outside of their physical social networks. Social media sites may serve as promising platforms for research recruitment, public health campaigns, or interventions. The present study aims to assess, and comprehensively present, the effectiveness of a low-cost approach to recruitment through groups on Facebook within the context of a broader study of COVID-19 long-haulers.

Methods

Facebook groups were searched using a variety of COVID-related terminology and included if they were in English, COVID-19 specific, public, and have or were approaching 1,000 or more members. Group administrators were either contacted for permission to post recruitment materials or posts were made and left pending administrator approval, depending on group settings. Group members were able to follow a link to the online survey platform (i.e., RedCap) where they provided informed consent and completed an online assessment of their COVID-19 experiences and psychosocial wellbeing. Upon survey completion participants were able to opt-in to a raffle-based incentive. The characteristics of the Facebook groups and demographic background of participants were assessed.

Findings

Contacting administrators and posts made between January and March of 2022 within 17 COVID-19 specific groups yielded a sample size of 460 long-haulers. The groups relied upon for recruitment had a mean size of 21,022 (SD=45,645.3), most had three or more administrators (43%), and a majority were state specific (60%). The long-hauler participants enrolled from the posts had an average age of 32 years (SD=6.19), approximately split between men (48.91%) and women (50.22%), a majority white (70%), having earned a bachelor's or postgraduate degree (63.48%), and reporting an annual income between $50,000 and $100,000 (56.09%).

Discussion

The present study presents strengths and recommendations for survey recruitment through Facebook groups as a low-cost recruitment strategy that is easily targeted to populations with a specific health condition and allows users to complete online psycho-behavioral assessments off-site on a HIPPA compliant survey platform.

Recruiting Nurse Participants in Ambulatory Care Nursing Research

Patient care needs in ambulatory care (AC) settings continue to grow and evolve in the United States, with commensurate growth of nursing responsibilities in AC. Conducting research on the nursing workforce and nursing practice is essential to understanding and meeting the needs of nurses and patients in this setting. However, the structures and characteristics of AC settings pose challenges for conducting research on AC nursing practice. This article explains unique barriers to participation in research for nurses in AC, describes recruitment challenges for nurse researchers in AC, and provides strategies to increase recruitment of nurses for AC research. Researchers in AC must find ways to recruit representative participant samples, be clear and precise in defining terms, and report robust demographic information about participants and their practice settings.

Participant recruitment for paediatric research using social media: A practical 'how-to' guide for researchers

AIM

Social 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.

METHODS

The 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.

RESULTS

A 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.

CONCLUSION

Due 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.

Big Data in Oncology Nursing Research: State of the Science

OBJECTIVE

To review the state of oncology nursing science as it pertains to big data. The authors aim to define and characterize big data, describe key considerations for accessing and analyzing big data, provide examples of analyses of big data in oncology nursing science, and highlight ethical considerations related to the collection and analysis of big data.

DATA SOURCES

Peer-reviewed articles published by investigators specializing in oncology, nursing, and related disciplines.

CONCLUSION

Big data is defined as data that are high in volume, velocity, and variety. To date, oncology nurse scientists have used big data to predict patient outcomes from clinician notes, identify distinct symptom phenotypes, and identify predictors of chemotherapy toxicity, among other applications. Although the emergence of big data and advances in computational methods provide new and exciting opportunities to advance oncology nursing science, several challenges are associated with accessing and using big data. Data security, research participant privacy, and the underrepresentation of minoritized individuals in big data are important concerns.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

With their unique focus on the interplay between the whole person, the environment, and health, nurses bring an indispensable perspective to the interpretation and application of big data research findings. Given the increasing ubiquity of passive data collection, all nurses should be taught the definition, characteristics, applications, and limitations of big data. Nurses who are trained in big data and advanced computational methods will be poised to contribute to guidelines and policies that preserve the rights of human research participants.

Practical Benefits, Challenges, and Recommendations on Social Media Recruitment: Multi-Stakeholder Interview Study

BACKGROUND

The increasing use of social media opens new opportunities for recruiting patients for research studies. However, systematic evaluations indicate that the success of social media recruitment in terms of cost-effectiveness and representativeness depends on the type of study and its purpose.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the practical benefits and challenges of recruiting study participants with social media in the context of clinical and nonclinical studies and provide a summary of expert advice on how to conduct social media-based recruitment.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with 6 patients with hepatitis B who use social media and 30 experts from the following disciplines: (1) social media researchers or social scientists, (2) practical experts for social media recruitment, (3) legal experts, (4) ethics committee members, and (5) clinical researchers. The interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We found diverging expert opinions regarding the challenges and benefits of social media recruitment for research studies in four domains: (1) resources needed, (2) representativeness, (3) web-based community building, and (4) privacy considerations. Moreover, the interviewed experts provided practical advice on how to promote a research study via social media.

CONCLUSIONS

Even though recruitment strategies should always be sensitive to individual study contexts, a multiplatform approach (recruiting via several different social media platforms) with mixed-methods recruitment (web-based and offline recruitment channels) is the most beneficial recruitment strategy for many research studies. The different recruitment methods complement each other and may contribute to improving the reach of the study, the recruitment accrual, and the representativeness of the sample. However, it is important to assess the context- and project-specific appropriateness and usefulness of social media recruitment before designing the recruitment strategy.

Recruiting for a Randomized Clinical Trial for Late-Life Depression During COVID-19: Outcomes of Provider Referrals Versus Facebook Self-Referrals

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19.

METHODS

The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time.

RESULTS

Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = -0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.

Social Media Use for Research Participant Recruitment: Integrative Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Social media tools have provided health researchers with the opportunity to engage with communities and groups in a nonconventional manner to recruit participants for health research. Using social media to advertise research opportunities and recruit participants facilitates accessibility to participants from broad geographical areas and diverse populations. However, little guidance is provided by ethics review boards for researchers to effectively use this recruitment method in their research.

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to explore the literature on the use of social media for participant recruitment for research studies and identify the best practices for recruiting participants using this method.

METHODS

An integrative review approach was used to synthesize the literature. A total of 5 health sciences databases, namely, EMBASE (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid and EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (Ovid), Scopus (Elsevier), and CINAHL Plus with Full Text (EBSCOhost), were searched using predefined keywords and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The initial search was conducted in October 2020 and was updated in February 2022. Descriptive and content analyses were applied to synthesize the results, and the findings are presented in a narrative and tabular format.

RESULTS

A total of 96 records were included in this review, 83 (86%) from the initial search and 13 (14%) from the updated search. The publication year ranged between 2011 and 2022, with most publications (63/96, 66%) being from the United States. Regarding recruitment strategy, 45% (43/96) of the studies exclusively used social media, whereas 51% (49/96) used social media in conjunction with other strategies. The remaining 4% (4/96) provided guidelines and recommendations for social media recruitment. Notably, 38% (36/96) of these studies involved hard-to-reach populations. The findings also revealed that the use of social media is a cost-effective and efficient strategy for recruiting research participants. Despite the expanded use across different populations, there is limited participation of older adults in social media recruitment.

CONCLUSIONS

This review provides important insights into the current use of social media for health research participant recruitment. Ethics boards and research support services in academic institutions are encouraged to explicitly provide researchers with guidelines on the use of social media for health research participant recruitment. A preliminary guideline prepared based on the findings of this review is proposed to spark further development in this area.

Ethical Issues in Social Media Recruitment for Clinical Studies: Ethical Analysis and Framework

BACKGROUND

Social media recruitment for clinical studies holds the promise of being a cost-effective way of attracting traditionally marginalized populations and promoting patient engagement with researchers and a particular study. However, using social media for recruiting clinical study participants also poses a range of ethical issues.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to provide 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

On the basis of established principles of clinical ethics and research ethics, we reviewed the conceptual and empirical literature for ethical benefits and challenges related to social media recruitment. From these, we derived a conceptual framework to evaluate the eligibility of social media use for recruitment for a specific clinical study.

RESULTS

We identified three eligibility criteria for social media recruitment for clinical studies: information and consent, risks for target groups, and recruitment effectiveness. These criteria can be used to evaluate the implementation of a social media recruitment strategy at its planning stage. We have discussed the practical implications of these criteria for researchers.

CONCLUSIONS

The ethical challenges related to social media recruitment are context sensitive. Therefore, social media recruitment should be planned rigorously, taking into account the target group, the appropriateness of social media as a recruitment channel, and the resources available to execute the strategy.

'Blurred boundaries': When nurses and midwives give anti-vaccination advice on Facebook

BACKGROUND

Nurses and midwives have a professional obligation to promote health and prevent disease, and therefore they have an essential role to play in vaccination. Despite this, some nurses and midwives have been found to take an anti-vaccination stance and promulgate misinformation about vaccines, often using Facebook as a platform to do so.

RESEARCH QUESTION

This article reports on one component and dataset from a larger study - 'the positives, perils and pitfalls of Facebook for nurses'. It explores the specific issue of nurses and midwives who take an anti-vaccination stance, deemed to be unprofessional by crossing professional boundaries and by providing medical information on Facebook that is not within their scope of practice.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected via an online worldwide survey from nurse and midwife participants, distributed and 'snowballed' through relevant nursing and midwifery groups on Facebook. In total, 1644 Registered Nurses and Midwives, and Enrolled Nurses worldwide attempted the online survey. There were 1100 (66.9%) completed surveys and 54 partially (33.1%) completed surveys. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted online using Skype® with 17 participants in Australia.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ethical processes and procedures have been adhered to relating to privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of the participants.

FINDINGS/RESULTS

A mixed-methods approach was used, including descriptive and content analysis of the quantitative survey data and thematic analysis of the qualitative interview data. The main theme 'blurred boundaries' was generated, which comprised three sub-themes: 'follow the science, 'abuse of power and erosion of trust' and 'the moral and ethical responsibility to safeguard public health'. The results offer an important and unique understanding of how nurses and midwives interpret the conduct of fellow health professionals as unprofessional and crossing the professional boundary if they used Facebook to promulgate anti-vaccination messages and/or give medical advice online.

CONCLUSION

There are many positives and negatives for nurses and midwives associated with using Facebook for personal and professional communication, which is in keeping with the results of the larger study from which this article is taken. Professional behaviour is a key theme in the larger research as is the ethical construct of 'every act has a consequence'; however, in this article, the theme 'blurred boundaries' offers an overall understanding of how nurses and midwives interpret the behaviour of their colleagues who espouse anti-vaccination sentiment and/or give medical advice online that is outside their scope of practice and education.

Attitudes Toward Cannabis Use During Labor in the United States

Objective: Little is known about women's attitudes toward cannabis use during labor. We aim to address this gap by (1) reporting on attitudes toward cannabis use during labor, including cannabis use during most recent childbirth; and (2) examining the extent to which attitudes, willingness to use cannabis during labor, and cannabis use during most recent childbirth vary across state-level cannabis policies.

Methods: In Spring 2021, we recruited biological women of reproductive age (18–40 years) for an online survey. We collected sociodemographic information and asked women about their attitudes toward cannabis use during labor, willingness to use cannabis during labor, and prior cannabis use during most recent childbirth. We ran descriptive statistics and used Fisher's exact tests to examine the association between state cannabis policies and attitudes toward cannabis use during labor, including willingness to use cannabis during labor.

Results: In our sample (N = 163), most women reported they would either consider using (47.85%) or previously used (3.07%) cannabis during labor. Compared with women who would not use, women who reported willingness to use or prior use of cannabis during labor were more likely to report a lower annual household income (p = 0.001) and education level (p < 0.001). Women willing to consider cannabis use were also more likely to report prenatal cannabis use (p < 0.001) and reside in a state with recreational cannabis legalization (p = 0.003). Women who would not consider using cannabis during labor were more likely to perceive one or more risks of use compared with women who would consider using cannabis during labor (90.00% vs. 72.29%, respectively; p = 0.005). In fully illegal states, 66% of women reported they would be more likely to use cannabis during labor if it were legal.

Conclusions: Future research is urgently needed to guide clinical practice. To mitigate adverse health outcomes, prenatal care providers should discuss cannabis use during labor with their patients.

Facebook Recruitment for Children with Advanced Cancer and Their Parents: Lessons from a Web-based Pediatric Palliative Intervention Study

Participant recruitment for pediatric palliative intervention studies is a chronic challenge for researchers. Digital recruitment strategies, or digital technology-assisted recruitment methods used to remotely reach and enroll research subjects, can help address these recruitment challenges for pediatric palliative care clinical trials. This study (a) describes Facebook recruitment procedures targeting children with cancer and their parents for a pediatric palliative intervention randomized clinical trial, (b) reports recruitment results, and (c) discusses successful strategies to recruit pediatric populations via Facebook advertisements. Researchers used Facebook advertisements to recruit children with advanced cancer (aged 7 to 17 years) for a web-based legacy intervention. Between years 2015 and 2018, our research team enrolled 150 child-parent dyads (N= 300) to participate in the web-based legacy program. Results suggest that Facebook advertisements can be a successful tool to access and recruit pediatric populations with life-threatening conditions. Further research is needed to determine how innovative social-media recruitment strategies could be used in other populations of patients with serious illnesses and their caregivers to further advance the science in palliative care.

Using Social Media for Qualitative Health Research in Danish Women of Reproductive Age: Online Focus Group Study on Facebook

BACKGROUND

Social media platforms provide new possibilities within health research. With Facebook being the largest social network in the world, it constitutes a potential platform for recruitment and data collection from women of reproductive age. Women in Denmark and in other Western countries postpone motherhood and risk infertility due to their advanced age when they try to conceive. To date, no study has explored Danish women's reflections on the timing of motherhood within a social media setting.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the challenges and opportunities of using Facebook as a platform for qualitative health research in Danish women of reproductive age.

METHODS

This study was a qualitative study based on 3 online focus groups on Facebook with 26 Danish women of reproductive age discussing the timing of motherhood in January 2020.

RESULTS

Conducting online focus groups on Facebook was successful in this study as the web-based approach was found suitable for developing qualitative data with women of reproductive age and made recruitment easy and free of charge. All participants found participating in an online focus group to be a positive experience. More than half of the women participating in the online focus groups found it advantageous to meet on Facebook instead of meeting face-to-face.

CONCLUSIONS

Conducting online focus groups on Facebook is a suitable method to access qualitative data from women of reproductive age. Participants were positive toward being a part of an online focus group. Online focus groups on social media have the potential to give women of reproductive age a voice in the debate of motherhood.

Ethical Considerations of Social Media to Recruit Caregivers of Children With Cancer

BACKGROUND

Social media platforms are useful for recruiting hard-to-reach populations, such as caregivers of children with cancer, for research. However, there are unique ethical considerations in using social media.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to describe the methods used to recruit hard-to-reach caregivers (parents of children with cancer) for research and related ethical considerations.

METHODS

We used The Belmont Report tenets (respect for persons, beneficence, and justice) as a guiding framework to identify issues relevant to social media recruitment of hard-to-reach populations and to describe how we addressed these issues in our study.

RESULTS

We engaged leaders of two online communities that offer peer support for caregivers of children with cancer to help with recruitment to our study on financial effect of pediatric cancer. We identified issues in using social media for recruiting hard-to-reach populations in alignment with The Belmont Report, including risk for subject selection bias, privacy rights, protecting identity of participants, data security issues, and access to research. We addressed issues by deliberate study design decisions and engagement with online community advocates.

DISCUSSION

Using social media to recruit hard-to-reach populations may be a successful way to engage them in research. Although researchers may remain compliant with the institutional review board of their facilities and are faithful to the tenets of The Belmont Report, unanticipated ethical issues may arise directly or indirectly as a result of using social media. This article identifies these issues and provides suggestions for dealing with them.

Threats of Bots and Other Bad Actors to Data Quality Following Research Participant Recruitment Through Social Media: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire

Background

Recruitment of health research participants through social media is becoming more common. In the United States, 80% of adults use at least one social media platform. Social media platforms may allow researchers to reach potential participants efficiently. However, online research methods may be associated with unique threats to sample validity and data integrity. Limited research has described issues of data quality and authenticity associated with the recruitment of health research participants through social media, and sources of low-quality and fraudulent data in this context are poorly understood.

Objective

The goal of the research was to describe and explain threats to sample validity and data integrity following recruitment of health research participants through social media and summarize recommended strategies to mitigate these threats. Our experience designing and implementing a research study using social media recruitment and online data collection serves as a case study.

Methods

Using published strategies to preserve data integrity, we recruited participants to complete an online survey through the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook. Participants were to receive $15 upon survey completion. Prior to manually issuing remuneration, we reviewed completed surveys for indicators of fraudulent or low-quality data. Indicators attributable to respondent error were labeled suspicious, while those suggesting misrepresentation were labeled fraudulent. We planned to remove cases with 1 fraudulent indicator or at least 3 suspicious indicators.

Results

Within 7 hours of survey activation, we received 271 completed surveys. We classified 94.5% (256/271) of cases as fraudulent and 5.5% (15/271) as suspicious. In total, 86.7% (235/271) provided inconsistent responses to verifiable items and 16.2% (44/271) exhibited evidence of bot automation. Of the fraudulent cases, 53.9% (138/256) provided a duplicate or unusual response to one or more open-ended items and 52.0% (133/256) exhibited evidence of inattention.

Conclusions

Research findings from several disciplines suggest studies in which research participants are recruited through social media are susceptible to data quality issues. Opportunistic individuals who use virtual private servers to fraudulently complete research surveys for profit may contribute to low-quality data. Strategies to preserve data integrity following research participant recruitment through social media are limited. Development and testing of novel strategies to prevent and detect fraud is a research priority.

Harnessing the power of social media: how can it help in axial spondyloarthritis research?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease that is relatively unknown among the general public. Most patients with axSpA are young or middle-aged adults and more likely to use some social media. This review highlights trends in the application of social media and different ways in which these tools do already or may benefit clinical research, delivery of care, and education in rheumatology, particularly in the field of axSpA.

RECENT FINDINGS

This article discusses four areas in the biomedical field that social media has infused with novel ideas: (i) the use of patient-generated health data from social media to learn about their disease experience, (ii) delivering health education and interventions, (iii) recruiting study participants, and (iv) reform, transfer, and disseminate medical education. We conclude with promising studies in rheumatology that have incorporated social media and suggestions for future directions.

SUMMARY

Rheumatologists now have the opportunity to use social media and innovate on many aspects of their practice. We propose further exploration of multiple ways in which social media might help with the identification, diagnosis, education, and research study enrollment of axSpA patients. However, standardization in study design, reporting, and managing ethical and regulatory aspects will be required to take full advantage of this opportunity.

To end disease tomorrow, begin with trials today: Digital strategies for increased awareness of a clinical trials finder

INTRODUCTION

Individuals experiencing different medical conditions, as well as healthy volunteers, may often be interested in trial participation, and researchers similarly need to find participants to advance medical knowledge. The ResearchMatch (RM) Trials Today clinical trial searching tool leverages clinicaltrials.gov data to enable potential participants to look for trial opportunities relevant to their situation. To facilitate expanded use of this tool, we undertook a national digital public awareness campaign to increase awareness of Trials Today among members of the general public.

METHODS

The awareness campaign promoted Trials Today using Facebook and digital banner messages in 2017, encompassing nine cities across the USA. The digital strategy was complemented by print media in several outlets. We employed descriptive statistics to summarize campaign metrics and site usage data during the campaign.

RESULTS

The campaign was successful in increasing visits to Trials Today, with 142,303 sessions logged during its run, as compared to pre-campaign data indicating 104,688 total sessions during the entire 2-year period since the site's inception. The city-specific click-through rate for all digital impressions, combining Facebook and banner messaging, ranged from 0.50% to 1.09%, resulting in a cost-per-click range of $0.69-$1.15. In addition, visitors conducted 29,697 searches and viewed individual trial records 173,512 times.

CONCLUSION

The public awareness campaign was successful in increasing use of the RM Trials Today clinical trial searching tool. Our findings support the value of digital media messaging as a cost-effective vehicle for promoting clinical trial awareness, especially for chronic ailments.

Advancing the Science of Recruitment for Family Caregivers: Focus Group and Delphi Methods

Background

Successful recruitment of participants is imperative to a rigorous study, and recruitment challenges are not new to researchers. Many researchers have used social media successfully to recruit study participants. However, challenges remain for effective online social media recruitment for some populations.

Objective

Using a multistep approach that included a focus group and Delphi method, researchers performed this study to gain expert advice regarding material development for social media recruitment and to test the recruitment material with the target population.

Methods

In the first phase, we conducted a focus group with 5 social media experts to identify critical elements for effective social media recruitment material. Utilizing the Delphi method with 5 family caregivers, we conducted the second phase to reach consensus regarding effective recruitment videos.

Results

Phase I utilized a focus group that resulted in identification of three barriers related to social media recruitment, including lack of staff and resources, issues with restrictive algorithms, and not standing out in the crowd. Phase II used the Delphi method. At the completion of Delphi Round 1, 5 Delphi participants received a summary of the analysis for feedback and agreement with our summary. Using data and recommendations from Round 1, researchers created two new recruitment videos with additions to improve trustworthiness and transparency, such as the university's logo. In Round 2 of the Delphi method, consensus regarding the quality and trustworthiness of the recruitment videos reached 100%.

Conclusions

One of the primary challenges for family caregiver research is recruitment. Despite the broad adoption of social media marketing approaches, the effectiveness of online recruitment strategies needs further investigation.