Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
J Med Internet Res. 2021 Mar 30;23(3):e25208. doi: 10.2196/25208.
Effective and efficient participant recruitment is a key determinant of the success of a research program. Previously reported recruitment strategies have displayed variable success rates in studies on women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost per participant of the recruitment strategies that we used in a prospective randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of exercise training among inactive women with PCOS, who are aged 18-40 years.
The 4 recruitment methods we used were as follows: (1) referral by health care providers or by word of mouth, (2) media (eg, local newspaper stories and radio interviews), (3) Facebook advertisements, and (4) unpaid advertisements including posters and websites. The proportions of potential, eligible, and enrolled participants recruited with each method were determined and compared using tests of proportion. The time investment and cost per participant enrolled were calculated for each recruitment strategy.
Of 200 potential participants screened, 98 (49%) were recruited from unpaid advertisements (posters and websites), 70 (35%) from Facebook advertisements, 16 (8%) by referral, and 16 (8%) from traditional media (newspaper and radio). Every potential participant was recruited from separate means (ie, no participant was approached through more than one recruitment method). A total of 109 (54.5%) women were deemed eligible for participation in the trial, and 60 (30.0%) were enrolled. The proportion of potential participants who completed the trial was higher for those recruited from traditional media than from Facebook advertisements (n=7/16, 44% vs n=13/70, 19%, respectively; P=.03) or unpaid advertisements (n=7/16, 44% vs n=13/98, 13%, respectively; P=.002). The cost per participant was Can $18.21 (US $14.46) for Facebook advertisements and Can $43.88 (US $34.85) for unpaid advertisements. There were no direct trial costs for referrals or traditional media.
For this trial, each method was important for recruiting inactive women with PCOS because no participant reported learning about the trial through more than one method. Unpaid advertisements and Facebook advertisements helped recruit the largest number of participants in the trial, the former resulting in a higher cost per participant than the latter.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03362918; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03362918.
有效的参与者招募是研究计划成功的关键决定因素。之前报道的招募策略在多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）女性的研究中显示出不同的成功率。
本研究旨在评估我们在一项前瞻性随机对照试验中使用的招募策略的有效性和每位参与者的成本，以研究锻炼训练对年龄在 18-40 岁之间不活跃的 PCOS 女性的影响。
我们使用了以下 4 种招募方法：（1）医疗保健提供者推荐或口口相传，（2）媒体（例如，当地报纸报道和电台采访），（3）Facebook 广告，（4）包括海报和网站在内的无偿广告。使用比例检验确定并比较了每种方法招募的潜在参与者、合格参与者和入组参与者的比例。为每种招募策略计算了时间投入和每位入组参与者的成本。
在筛选的 200 名潜在参与者中，有 98 名（49%）是通过无偿广告（海报和网站）招募的，70 名（35%）是通过 Facebook 广告招募的，16 名（8%）是通过推荐招募的，16 名（8%）是通过传统媒体（报纸和电台）招募的。每个潜在参与者都是通过单独的方式招募的（即，没有一个参与者是通过多种招募方式招募的）。共有 109 名（54.5%）女性被认为有资格参加试验，其中 60 名（30.0%）入组。完成试验的潜在参与者比例在通过传统媒体招募的参与者中高于通过 Facebook 广告招募的参与者（n=7/16，44%比 n=13/70，19%；P=.03）或无偿广告招募的参与者（n=7/16，44%比 n=13/98，13%；P=.002）。每位参与者的成本为 Facebook 广告 18.21 加元（14.46 美元），无偿广告 43.88 加元（34.85 美元）。推荐或传统媒体没有直接的试验费用。
对于这项试验，每种方法对于招募不活跃的 PCOS 女性都很重要，因为没有参与者报告通过多种方法了解试验。无偿广告和 Facebook 广告帮助招募了试验中最多的参与者，前者的每位参与者成本高于后者。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03362918；https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03362918。
