TY  - JOUR
AU  - Leach, Liana S
AU  - Butterworth, Peter
AU  - Poyser, Carmel
AU  - Batterham, Philip J
AU  - Farrer, Louise M
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/03/08
TI  - Online Recruitment: Feasibility, Cost, and Representativeness in a Study of Postpartum Women
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e61
VL  - 19
IS  - 3
KW  - online
KW  - Internet
KW  - recruitment
KW  - feasibility
KW  - representativeness
KW  - postpartum
AB  - Background: Online recruitment is feasible, low-cost, and can provide high-quality epidemiological data. However, little is known about the feasibility of recruiting postpartum women online, or sample representativeness. Objective: The current study investigates the feasibility of recruiting a population of postpartum women online for health research and examines sample representativeness. Methods: Two samples of postpartum women were compared: those recruited online as participants in a brief survey of new mothers (n=1083) and those recruited face-to-face as part of a nationally representative study (n=579). Sociodemographic, general health, and mental health characteristics were compared between the two samples. Results: Obtaining a sample of postpartum women online for health research was highly efficient and low-cost. The online sample over-represented those who were younger (aged 25-29 years), were in a de facto relationship, had higher levels of education, spoke only English at home, and were first-time mothers. Members of the online sample were significantly more likely to have poor self-rated health and poor mental health than the nationally representative sample. Health differences remained after adjusting for sociodemographic differences. Conclusions: Potential exists for feasible and low-cost e-epidemiological research with postpartum populations; however, researchers should consider the potential influence of sample nonrepresentativeness. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - http://www.jmir.org/2017/3/e61/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5745
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28274906
DO  - 10.2196/jmir.5745
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/jmir.5745
ER  -