Recruiting for a Randomized Clinical Trial for Late-Life Depression During COVID-19: Outcomes of Provider Referrals Versus Facebook Self-Referrals.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
; 31(5): 366-371, 2023 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2220915
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19.METHODS:
The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time.RESULTS:
Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = -0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance.CONCLUSION:
Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
Journal subject:
Geriatrics
/
Psychiatry
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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