Research recruitment strategies in the digital era: Opportunities and challenges of social media

Background

Effective recruitment is crucial for clinical research, yet traditional methods can be costly and time-consuming. Digital platforms offer a promising opportunity for reaching broader populations. This paper aims to provide a descriptive analysis of digital and traditional recruitment strategies used to engage women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) and identify the most effective methods.

Methods

From January 2023 to November 2024, women aged 18–40 were recruited through traditional methods (flyers, referrals, word-of-mouth, health fairs) and digital platforms (Instagram, X, Facebook, Reddit, podcasts, electronic boards, clinical trial websites, data exploration tool). Respondents were categorized into “All”, “Consented,” and “Completed,” then stratified by generation and geographic location. Enrollment and completion rates were calculated.

Results

Among 220 respondents (mean age 28.0 ± 5.9 years), 74 (34 %) consented, and 47 (21 %) completed participation. Of all responses, Instagram provided the highest recruitment (37 %, n = 82), but had the lowest enrollment rate (17 %). Podcasts and word-of-mouth were also effective, with physician referrals yielding the highest enrollment (80 %) and completion (100 %) rates yet representing one of the lowest recruitment counts (n = 5). While digital strategies had three times more outreach, enrollment and completion rates remained similar to those of traditional methods. Millennials (n = 117) relied more on Facebook and Podcasts, while Gen Z (n = 102) engaged more via electronic boards and Reddit.

Conclusions

Digital platforms, particularly social media and podcasts showed significant potential to enhance recruitment efficiency and outreach. However, varying completion rates across methods underscore the importance of a multifaceted approach to ensure participant diversity and study generalizability.