Social Media Recruitment to Increase Participation Among Hard-to-Reach Populations: Experiences From a Breastfeeding Study of African American Women.

Abstract

Introduction: Among racial and ethnic groups, African American women experience some of the lowest breastfeeding rates, yet they remain underrepresented in breastfeeding research. Social media has the potential to increase their participation, but practical examples of its use are needed to accompany existing guidelines.

Methods: We used Facebook to recruit African American, breastfeeding women for our cross-sectional survey research designed to explore breastfeeding and human milk expression behaviors. We describe the steps undertaken and challenges faced with our recruitment efforts.

Results: The steps included (1) identifying relevant Facebook groups, (2) contacting administrators, (3) posting and sustaining visibility, and (4) addressing the challenges encountered related to survey completion, including bots, discordant answers, missing data, and sample size, and how we addressed each. Of the private Facebook groups contacted, 21.6% permitted recruitment, resulting in a final sample of 133 African American women who completed the survey.

Discussion: Many challenges were encountered in social media recruitment. We offer practical guidance for researchers contemplating similar platforms to recruit participants for breastfeeding or other maternal health research, especially those recruiting hard-to-reach or underrepresented populations.