@Article{info:doi/10.2196/jmir.3229,
author="Yuan, Patrick
and Bare, Michael G
and Johnson, Mallory O
and Saberi, Parya",
title="Using Online Social Media for Recruitment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Participants: A Cross-Sectional Survey",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2014",
month="May",
day="01",
volume="16",
number="5",
pages="e117",
keywords="HIV; AIDS; online social media; Facebook; Twitter; recruitment; Internet research; survey retention; online data collection software; non-financial incentives",
abstract="Background: There are many challenges in recruiting and engaging participants when conducting research, especially with HIV-positive individuals. Some of these challenges include geographical barriers, insufficient time and financial resources, and perceived HIV-related stigma. Objective: This paper describes the methodology of a recruitment approach that capitalized on existing online social media venues and other Internet resources in an attempt to overcome some of these barriers to research recruitment and retention. Methods: From May through August 2013, a campaign approach using a combination of online social media, non-financial incentives, and Web-based survey software was implemented to advertise, recruit, and retain participants, and collect data for a survey study with a limited budget. Results: Approximately US {\$}5,000 was spent with a research staff designated at 20{\%} of full-time effort, yielding 2034 survey clicks, 1404 of which met the inclusion criteria and initiated the survey, for an average cost of US {\$}3.56 per survey initiation. A total of 1221 individuals completed the survey, yielding 86.97{\%} retention. Conclusions: These data indicate that online recruitment is a feasible and efficient tool that can be further enhanced by sophisticated online data collection software and the addition of non-financial incentives. ",
issn="14388871",
doi="10.2196/jmir.3229",
url="http://www.jmir.org/2014/5/e117/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3229",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24784982"
}