Using social media to recruit stroke survivors to the HEADS: UP Online randomised control trial, a stroke-specific psychological self-management intervention: reflections and lessons learned

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Social media has emerged as a useful and potentially costeffective recruitment route for clinical trials particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents recruitment results and lessons learned from using social media for recruitment to the HEADS UP Helping Ease Anxiety and Depression after Stroke Online randomised control trial. Method(s) We recruited UK-based community-dwelling stroke survivors with self-reported anxiety and depression. Our recruitment strategy included community networks and social media platforms. Result(s) Recruitment over 22 weeks resulted in 120 leads (5.5/week), with social media, primarily Facebook and Twitter, contributing 38 leads (31.7%;1.7/week). We enrolled 64 participants (female n=36 (56.3%), mean age 56.3 yrs, SD=11.2 ), with 28 (43.8%;female n=15 (53.6%), mean age 53.0 yrs, SD=11.3) recruited through social media. Facebook generated 21 (75%) of 28 social media participants, with Twitter contributing 8 (28.6%), including one participant from both Facebook and Twitter (3.6%). Facebook allowed for recruitment from stroke community groups and contact with key group members who posted regularly on our behalf, aiding credibility. Twitter provided the opportunity to recruit without gatekeepers, but required considerable researcher time and effort spent networking (i.e. Following, Liking, requesting Retweets) and developing new content to post, which stretched our limited resources. Conclusion(s) Social media was an effective, integral strategy for recruitment. However, substantial resources were required to develop content and manage our online presence. Future research could benefit from costing researcher time into funding applications and investing time in identifying and making contacts within population-specific pages or groups.