Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2021 Apr 16;23(4):e24716. doi: 10.2196/24716.
Multimodal recruitment strategies are a novel way to increase diversity in research populations. However, these methods have not been previously applied to understanding the prevalence of menstrual disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome.
The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of recruiting a diverse cohort to complete a web-based survey on ovulation and menstruation health.
We conducted the Ovulation and Menstruation Health Pilot Study using a REDCap web-based survey platform. We recruited 200 women from a clinical population, a community fair, and the internet.
We recruited 438 women over 29 weeks between September 2017 and March 2018. After consent and eligibility determination, 345 enrolled, 278 started (clinic: n=43; community fair: n=61; internet: n=174), and 247 completed (clinic: n=28; community fair: n=60; internet: n=159) the survey. Among all participants, the median age was 25.0 (SD 6.0) years, mean BMI was 26.1 kg/m (SD 6.6), 79.7% (216/271) had a college degree or higher, and 14.6% (37/254) reported a physician diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome. Race and ethnicity distributions were 64.7% (176/272) White, 11.8% (32/272) Black/African American, 7.7% (21/272) Latina/Hispanic, and 5.9% (16/272) Asian individuals; 9.9% (27/272) reported more than one race or ethnicity. The highest enrollment of Black/African American individuals was in clinic (17/42, 40.5%) compared to 1.6% (1/61) in the community fair and 8.3% (14/169) using the internet. Survey completion rates were highest among those who were recruited from the internet (159/174, 91.4%) and community fairs (60/61, 98.4%) compared to those recruited in clinic (28/43, 65.1%).
Multimodal recruitment achieved target recruitment in a short time period and established a racially diverse cohort to study ovulation and menstruation health. There were greater enrollment and completion rates among those recruited via the internet and community fair.
多模式招募策略是增加研究人群多样性的一种新方法。然而，这些方法以前从未应用于了解多囊卵巢综合征等月经紊乱的患病率。
本研究的目的是测试通过网络调查招募多样化队列以完成排卵和月经健康调查的可行性。
我们使用 REDCap 网络调查平台进行排卵和月经健康试点研究。我们从临床人群、社区集市和互联网上招募了 200 名女性。
我们在 2017 年 9 月至 2018 年 3 月期间招募了 438 名女性。在同意和资格确定后，有 345 名女性入组，278 名女性开始（临床：n=43；社区集市：n=61；互联网：n=174），247 名女性完成（临床：n=28；社区集市：n=60；互联网：n=159）了调查。在所有参与者中，中位年龄为 25.0（SD 6.0）岁，平均 BMI 为 26.1kg/m（SD 6.6），79.7%（216/271）有大学学历或更高学历，14.6%（37/254）报告有医生诊断为多囊卵巢综合征。种族和民族分布为 64.7%（176/272）白人，11.8%（32/272）黑人/非裔美国人，7.7%（21/272）拉丁裔/西班牙裔，和 5.9%（16/272）亚裔；9.9%（27/272）报告了超过一种种族或民族。黑人/非裔美国人的最高入组率为临床（17/42，40.5%），而社区集市（1/61，1.6%）和互联网（14/169，8.3%）的入组率较低。来自互联网（159/174，91.4%）和社区集市（60/61，98.4%）的招募者完成调查的比例最高，而临床招募者（28/43，65.1%）完成比例较低。
多模式招募在短时间内达到了目标招募人数，并建立了一个种族多样化的队列来研究排卵和月经健康。通过互联网和社区集市招募的参与者入组和完成率更高。
