Teo Alan R, Liebow Samuel Bl, Chan Benjamin, Dobscha Steven K, Graham Amanda L
HSR&D Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care (CIVIC), VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.
Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
JMIR Ment Health. 2018 Jul 5;5(3):e10078. doi: 10.2196/10078.
Younger military veterans are at high risk for psychiatric disorders and suicide. Reaching and engaging veterans in mental health care and research is challenging. Social media platforms may be an effective channel to connect with veterans.
This study tested the effectiveness of Facebook advertisements in reaching and recruiting Iraq and Afghanistan-era military veterans in a research study focused on mental health.
Facebook ads requesting participation in an online health survey ran for six weeks in 2017. Ads varied imagery and headlines. Validated instruments were used to screen for psychiatric disorders and suicidality. Outcomes included impressions, click-through rate, survey completion, and cost per survey completed.
Advertisements produced 827,918 impressions, 9,527 clicks, and 587 survey completions. Lack of enrollment in Veterans Affairs health care (193/587, 33%) and positive screens for current mental health problems were common, including posttraumatic stress disorder (266/585, 45%), problematic drinking (243/584, 42%), major depression (164/586, 28%), and suicidality (132/585, 23%). Approximately half of the survey participants (285/587, 49%) were recruited with just 2 of the 15 ads, which showed soldiers marching tied to an "incentive" or "sharing" headline. These 2 ads were also the most cost-effective, at US $4.88 and US $5.90 per participant, respectively. Among veterans with current suicidal ideation, the survey-taking image resulted in higher survey completion than the soldiers marching image (P=.007).
Facebook advertisements are effective in rapidly and inexpensively reaching military veterans, including those at risk for mental health problems and suicidality, and those not receiving Veterans Affairs health care. Advertisement image and headlines may help optimize the effectiveness of advertisements for specific subgroups.
年轻退伍军人患精神疾病和自杀的风险很高。让退伍军人获得心理健康护理并参与相关研究具有挑战性。社交媒体平台可能是与退伍军人建立联系的有效渠道。
本研究测试了脸书广告在一项专注于心理健康的研究中，接触和招募伊拉克和阿富汗战争时期退伍军人的有效性。
2017年，脸书广告请求参与在线健康调查持续了六周。广告的图像和标题各不相同。使用经过验证的工具筛查精神疾病和自杀倾向。结果包括展示次数、点击率、调查完成率和每份完成调查的成本。
广告产生了827,918次展示、9,527次点击和587次调查完成。未参加退伍军人事务部医疗保健（587人中193人，33%）以及当前心理健康问题筛查呈阳性很常见，包括创伤后应激障碍（585人中266人，45%）、问题饮酒（584人中243人，42%）、重度抑郁症（586人中164人，28%）和自杀倾向（585人中132人，23%）。大约一半的调查参与者（587人中285人，49%）仅通过15则广告中的2则招募而来，这两则广告展示的是与“激励”或“分享”标题相关的士兵行军画面。这两则广告也是最具成本效益的，每位参与者分别为4.88美元和5.90美元。在有当前自杀意念的退伍军人中，调查画面的调查完成率高于士兵行军画面（P = 0.007）。
脸书广告能有效且低成本地接触到退伍军人，包括那些有心理健康问题和自杀倾向风险的人，以及那些未接受退伍军人事务部医疗保健的人。广告图像和标题可能有助于优化针对特定亚组的广告效果。
