Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 3695 Cullen Blvd., Houston, TX 77204-5022, United States.
Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 1021 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14203-1016, United States.
Addict Behav. 2017 Dec;75:12-16. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.06.012. Epub 2017 Jun 21.
In smoking cessation studies with restrictive criteria (e.g., single-smoker couples), thousands of potential participants might need to be screened to obtain a reasonable sample size. Consideration of recruitment methodology is critical because recruitment methods influence both the success and cost effectiveness of recruitment. Although traditional recruitment methods are often used to recruit participants into smoking cessation research, newer technologies, such as paid Facebook advertising, might offer more cost-effective alternatives for recruitment. The current analysis compares two versions of paid Facebook advertising and a specialized mass mailing method used to recruit single-smoker couples into an intensive three-week study of unaided smoking cessation. The three methods are compared in terms of demographic characteristics, eligibility, and cost-effectiveness. Although Facebook's "Promote Your Page" mechanism achieved the fastest recruitment rate (2.75 couples per month; 498 USD per couple), Facebook's "Send People to Your Website" mechanism was the least expensive and provided the most demographically diverse sample (1.64 couples per month; 181 USD per couple). The specialized mailing method was not productive or cost-effective (0.80 couples per month; 454 USD per couple). Paid Facebook advertising fared better as a recruitment method than a specialized mailing method often used in survey research. Studies that have less restrictive eligibility criteria, that draw from a larger local population, or that recruit for a less intense study might find paid Facebook advertising to be quite feasible.
在采用限制性标准（例如，单吸烟伴侣）的戒烟研究中，可能需要筛选数千名潜在参与者才能获得合理的样本量。考虑招募方法至关重要，因为招募方法会影响招募的成功率和成本效益。尽管传统的招募方法常用于招募戒烟研究的参与者，但较新的技术（例如付费 Facebook 广告）可能为招募提供更具成本效益的替代方案。当前的分析比较了两种付费 Facebook 广告版本和一种专门的群发邮件方法，用于招募单吸烟伴侣参加一项为期三周的非辅助戒烟强化研究。这三种方法在人口统计学特征、资格和成本效益方面进行了比较。尽管 Facebook 的“推广您的页面”机制实现了最快的招募率（每月 2.75 对夫妇；每对夫妇 498 美元），但 Facebook 的“将人员发送到您的网站”机制最便宜，提供了最多样化的样本（每月 1.64 对夫妇；每对夫妇 181 美元）。专门的邮件方法没有生产力或成本效益（每月 0.80 对夫妇；每对夫妇 454 美元）。付费 Facebook 广告作为一种招募方法比调查研究中常用的专门邮件方法效果更好。那些具有较少限制资格标准、从更大的当地人群中招募或招募强度较低的研究可能会发现付费 Facebook 广告非常可行。
