Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of Maryland School of Public Health University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD 20742, United States.
Contemp Clin Trials. 2012 Mar;33(2):268-72. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2011.10.011. Epub 2011 Nov 11.
Recruitment and retention of adolescent research participants presents unique challenges and considerations when conducting epidemiological studies.
To describe the use of the social networking website in the re-recruitment and tracking of adolescent girls into a follow-up study of the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) at the University of Maryland field site.
730 girls were recruited as 8th graders into TAAG. Re-recruitment efforts were conducted when they were 11th graders (TAAG 2). Traditional methods, including mailings and school visits, were conducted. A TAAG 2 Facebook site was created to search for girls not found through traditional recruitment methods. Chi-square and t-tests were conducted to identify differences in characteristics between those found and "friended" through Facebook and through traditional recruitment methods.
There were 175 girls we were unable to locate using traditional recruitment methods. Of these, 78 were found on Facebook, 68 responded to our friend request, and 43 girls (6% of the girls previously recruited) participated in the study. Demographic data were similar for those who friended us on Facebook and traditional methods. 8th grade body mass index and percent body fat were lower for those recruited from Facebook (p=0.03 and 0.04, respectively). Number of daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity tended to be lower among the TAAG 2 Facebook friends (19 ± 11 vs 21 ± 11, p=0.06).
Loss to follow-up was minimized by contacting potential participants through Facebook. Social networking websites are a promising method to recruit adolescents.
在进行流行病学研究时，招募和保留青少年研究参与者会带来独特的挑战和考虑。
描述在马里兰大学实地研究中，如何利用社交网站重新招募和跟踪参加青少年活动试验（TAAG）后续研究的少女。
730 名女孩在八年级时被招募为 TAAG 的参与者。在她们上 11 年级时（TAAG2）进行了重新招募工作。采用了传统的方法，包括邮寄和学校访问。创建了一个 TAAG2 的 Facebook 网站，用于搜索通过传统招募方法未找到的女孩。采用卡方检验和 t 检验来识别通过 Facebook 和传统招募方法找到和“加为好友”的女孩之间特征的差异。
有 175 名女孩我们无法通过传统的招募方法找到。其中，有 78 人在 Facebook 上被找到，有 68 人回应了我们的好友请求，有 43 名女孩（之前招募的女孩的 6%）参加了研究。通过 Facebook 和传统方法加为好友的女孩的人口统计学数据相似。从 Facebook 招募的女孩的 8 年级体重指数和体脂肪百分比较低（p=0.03 和 0.04）。TAAG2 的 Facebook 好友的每日中等至剧烈体力活动分钟数较低（19±11 与 21±11，p=0.06）。
通过 Facebook 联系潜在参与者，最大限度地减少了随访流失。社交网站是招募青少年的一种有前途的方法。
