Facebook advertising for pediatric oncology research recruitment

Abstract

Objectives * Describe Facebook advertising recruitment methods. * Describe results from our Facebook advertising campaign. Original Research Background. Social media is one strategy that may improve diversity and sample sizes in pediatric palliative care research. Studies have used Facebook advertising for participant recruitment, but these studies have rarely been conducted with pediatric palliative care or oncology populations. Research Objectives. This study examined Facebook advertising for recruiting children with advanced cancer and their parent caregivers. Methods. Researchers used Facebook advertisements to recruit children with relapsed or refractory cancer and their parent caregivers to participate in a digital storytelling project. The ads targeted the United States, individuals ages 18 years and up, and interest terms related to childhood cancer (e.g., “childhood cancer awareness,” “cure childhood cancer,” and names of leading children’s hospitals). The ads contained a link to an electronic survey that included questions to screen for eligibility. Eligible participants continued to complete demographic information and provide their contact information (if willing to be contacted) to pilot a newly developed web-based digital storytelling intervention. All participants were eligible for a drawing of a $100 gift card. Results. The successful Facebook campaign delivered advertisements over a 12 day period (12/18/14-12/ 30/14). The ads generated 110,211 impressions (number of times ads were shown to users), were shown to 86,156 people, and resulted in 839 website clicks to our survey. The campaign cost $536.92, averaging $0.64 per website click. Of 76 screened individuals, 37 were eligible, and 22 completed the survey. Conclusion. Facebook advertising is a feasible strategy to recruit diverse samples of children with advanced cancer and their parents for research studies. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice. Researchers should pilot Facebook ads soon before large studies to stay up-to-date on evolving Facebook advertising campaigns. More research is needed to examine Facebook recruitment methods in other pediatric palliative care populations and to compare potential differences in face-to-face versus social media recruitment methods.