aMenzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania bEndocrine Hypertension Research Centre, University of Queensland School of Medicine, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland cAustralia National University, Canberra Hospital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory dSunshine Coast University Hospital, Birtinya eSchool of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane fLimestone Medical Centre, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.
J Hypertens. 2017 Dec;35(12):2527-2531. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000001477.
Recruitment of sufficient sample size into clinical trials is challenging. Conventional advertising methods are expensive and are often ineffective. The effectiveness of Facebook for recruitment into blood pressure clinical trials of middle-to-older-aged people is unknown. This study aimed to assess this by comparing Facebook advertising with conventional recruitment methods from a retrospective analysis within a clinical trial.
Conventional advertisements (newspaper, radio and posters) were employed for the first 20 months of a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in three Australian capital cities from Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. With dwindling participant recruitment, at 20 months a Facebook advertising campaign was employed intermittently over a 4-month period. Recruitment results were retrospectively compared with those using conventional methods in the previous 4 months.
Compared with conventional recruitment methods, Facebook advertisement was associated with a significant increase in the number of participants recruited in the Australian Capital Territory (from an average 1.8-7.3/month; P < 0.05). There was also an increase in Tasmania that was of borderline significance (from 4.0 participants recruited/month to 9.3/month; P = 0.052). However, there was no effect in Queensland (from 6.0 participants recruited/month to 3.0/month; P = 0.15). Facebook advertisement was associated with a significant decrease in the age of participants enquiring into the study (from 60.9 to 58.7 years; P < 0.001).
Facebook advertising was successful in helping to increase recruitment of middle-to-older aged participants into a blood pressure clinical trial, although there may be some variability in effect that is dependent on location.
临床试验的样本量招募具有挑战性。传统的广告方式既昂贵又常常无效。在中老年人的血压临床试验中，利用 Facebook 招募的效果尚不清楚。本研究旨在通过在一项临床试验的回顾性分析中，比较 Facebook 广告与传统招募方法，来评估这种效果。
在澳大利亚三个首府城市（塔斯马尼亚州、昆士兰州和澳大利亚首都领地）进行的一项随机对照临床试验的前 20 个月，使用传统广告（报纸、广播和海报）。随着参与者招募的减少，在第 20 个月，间歇性地进行了为期 4 个月的 Facebook 广告宣传活动。回顾性比较了前 4 个月使用传统方法和 Facebook 广告宣传活动的招募结果。
与传统的招募方法相比，Facebook 广告宣传与在澳大利亚首都领地招募的参与者数量显著增加相关（从平均每月 1.8-7.3 人增加到每月 7.3 人；P<0.05）。塔斯马尼亚州的招募人数也有显著增加，但仅为边缘显著（从每月 4.0 人增加到每月 9.3 人；P=0.052）。然而，在昆士兰州，招募人数没有变化（从每月 6.0 人增加到每月 3.0 人；P=0.15）。Facebook 广告宣传还与参与者询问研究的年龄显著降低相关（从 60.9 岁降至 58.7 岁；P<0.001）。
Facebook 广告宣传在帮助增加中老年人参与血压临床试验的招募方面是成功的，尽管效果可能存在一些因地点而异的变化。
