Dataset Information

Cost-effectiveness of social media advertising as a recruitment tool: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recruitment of study participants is challenging and can incur significant costs. Social media advertising is a promising method for recruiting clinical studies and may improve cost efficiency by targeting populations likely to match a study's qualifications. Prior systematic reviews of social media as a recruitment tool have been favourable, however, there are no meta-analyses of its cost-effectiveness.

Methods

Studies evaluating recruitment costs through social media and non-social media methods were identified on MEDLINE and EMBASE. Articles were screened through a two-step process in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Cost data were extracted from selected articles and meta-analyzed using the Mantel-Haenszel method. The primary outcome was the relative cost-effectiveness of social media compared to non-social media recruitment, defined as the odds ratio of recruiting a participant per US dollar spent. The secondary outcome was the cost-effectiveness of social media recruitment compared to other online recruitment methods only.

Results

In total, 23 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio of recruiting a participant through social media advertising compared to non-social media methods per dollar spent was 1.97 [95% CI 1.24-3.00, P = 0.004]. The odds ratio of recruiting a participant through social media compared to other online methods only was 1.66 [95% CI 1.02-2.72, P = 0.04].

Conclusions

Social media advertising may be more cost-effective than other methods of recruitment, however, the magnitude of cost-effectiveness is highly variable between studies. There are limited data on newer social media platforms and on difficult-to-reach populations such as non-English speakers or older individuals.

SUBMITTER: Tsaltskan V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10514690 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Cost-effectiveness of social media advertising as a recruitment tool: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Tsaltskan Vladislav V Sanchez Baez Roel R Firestein Gary S GS

Journal of clinical and translational science 20230807 1

<h4>Background</h4>Recruitment of study participants is challenging and can incur significant costs. Social media advertising is a promising method for recruiting clinical studies and may improve cost efficiency by targeting populations likely to match a study's qualifications. Prior systematic reviews of social media as a recruitment tool have been favourable, however, there are no meta-analyses of its cost-effectiveness.<h4>Methods</h4>Studies evaluating recruitment costs through social media ...[more]

PMID: 37745929

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Dataset Information

Cost-effectiveness of social media advertising as a recruitment tool: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Cost-effectiveness of social media advertising as a recruitment tool: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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