Suzanne Garland*, Dept. of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Elisa Young, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia Yeshe Fenner, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia John D Wark*, Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Track: Research Presentation Topic: Web 2.0 approaches for behaviour change, public health and biosurveillance Presentation Type: Oral presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School Room: A-Pechet Room Date: 2012-09-15 02:00 PM – 02:45 PM Last modified: 2012-09-10

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Background: It has become increasingly challenging to recruit young women into health studies using traditional methods, and recent studies have identified social media sites, as an effective and innovative means of reaching this demographic. We have successfully used Facebook to target and recruit young women into a study (VACCINE) measuring effectiveness of the comprehensive Australian human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programme.

Objectives: (1) To share lessons learned from our online recruitment strategy, including ethics, privacy, budget, advertising, timing, and social media profiles. (2) To assess the “representativeness” of the recruited population using census data for comparison, and the expected rates of expression of interest, recruitment and study completion.

Method: Following promising results from our pilot study, where young women were recruited through Facebook, we are recruiting young women into VACCINE using the same methodology. This recruitment strategy primarily involves targeted advertising on Facebook (with/without modest compensation for time spent), inviting 18-25 year old females from the state of Victoria, Australia, to participate in VACCINE. In addition, we have established a Facebook profile including ‘Pages’ and a ‘Wall’ , which together with the advertisements, direct potential participants to a secure website where they can send a confidential expression of interest (EOI). All EOIs are followed up with telephone screening to ensure authenticity and understanding of the study. Following verbal consent, participants are asked to complete an online questionnaire, self-collect a vaginal swab (sent through the post for HPV genotyping) and provide written consent. The questionnaire asks about demographic variables, sexual behaviour, knowledge relating to HPV, HPV vaccination and Pap screening.

Results: To date, 286 females have provided an EOI, with over 95% of participants brought in through the advertisement. 265 women have given consent to participate in the study, with 85% completing the questionnaire, and a 70% completion rate for the self-collected swab. The average cost per participant, taking in to account advertising fees and compensation vouchers, is $35, making this a cost-effective method for recruiting young women. Our recruitment strategy has been optimised over time, and consequently we have observed improvements in the rate of EOIs, following an increase in advertising budget, increased Facebook profile, and offering of compensation ($10 voucher). Furthermore, we have observed a seasonal pattern in recruitment, as well as trends in the days and times when the rate of EOIs is greatest. To monitor whether the recruited population thus far is representative of the wider Victoria population, we have matched the geographical distribution (major city, inner regional, outer regional/remote) and socioeconomic profile of participants against the target population: preliminary results suggest that there is broad representativeness.

Conclusion: Recruitment through social media sites such as Facebook offers a highly-effective option for recruiting young women into health research, and provides a promising platform to engage, communicate and educate this demographic. In order to make the most of this medium however, there are many factors which need to be considered before starting advertising and recruitment, ensuring minimal cost and optimised recruitment rate.