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Can Amazon's Mechanical Turk be used to recruit participants for internet intervention trials? A pilot study involving a randomized controlled trial of a brief online intervention for hazardous alcohol use.

ABSTRACT: Objectives:To determine whether Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) might be a viable means of recruiting participants for online intervention research. This was accomplished by conducting a randomized controlled trial of a previously validated intervention with participants recruited through MTurk. Methods:Participants were recruited to complete an online survey about their alcohol use through the MTurk platform. Those who met eligibility criterion for age and problem drinking were invited to complete a 3-month follow-up. Those who agreed were randomized to receive access to an online brief intervention for drinking or were assigned to a no intervention control group (i.e., thanked and told that they would be re-contacted in 3 months). Results:A total of 423 participants were recruited, of which 85% were followed-up at 3-months. All participants were recruited in 3.2 h. Only 1/3 of participants asked to access the online brief intervention did so. Of the 4 outcome variables (number of drinks in a typical week, highest number on one occasion, number of consequences, AUDIT consumption subscale), one displayed a significant difference between conditions. Participants in the intervention group reported a greater reduction between on the AUDIT consumption subscale between baseline and 3-month follow-up compared to those in the no intervention control group (p = 0.004). Conclusions:Despite the current pilot showing only limited evidence of impact of the intervention among participants recruited through MTurk, there is potential for conducting trials employing this population (particularly if methods are employed to make sure that participants receive the intervention). This potential is important as it could allow for the rapid conduct of multiple trials during the development stages of online interventions.

SUBMITTER: Cunningham JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6084901 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Can Amazon's Mechanical Turk be used to recruit participants for internet intervention trials? A pilot study involving a randomized controlled trial of a brief online intervention for hazardous alcohol use.

Cunningham John A JA Godinho Alexandra A Kushnir Vladyslav V

Internet interventions 20170909

<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine whether Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) might be a viable means of recruiting participants for online intervention research. This was accomplished by conducting a randomized controlled trial of a previously validated intervention with participants recruited through MTurk.<h4>Methods</h4>Participants were recruited to complete an online survey about their alcohol use through the MTurk platform. Those who met eligibility criterion for age and problem drinking were ...[more]

PMID: 30135748

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Project description:Internet interventions face significant challenges in recruitment and attrition rates are typically high and problematic. Finding innovative yet scientifically valid avenues for attaining and retaining participants is therefore of considerable importance. The main goal of this study was to compare recruitment process and participants characteristics between two similar randomized control trials of mood management interventions. One of the trials (Bunge et al., 2016) was conducted with participants recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (AMT), and the other trial recruited via Unpaid Internet Resources (UIR). Methods:The AMT sample (Bunge et al., 2016) consisted of 765 adults, and the UIR sample (recruited specifically for this study) consisted of 329 adult US residents. Participants' levels of depression, anxiety, confidence, motivation, and perceived usefulness of the intervention were assessed. The AMT sample was financially compensated whereas the UIR was not. Results:AMT yielded higher recruitment rates per month (p?<?.05). At baseline, the AMT sample reported significantly lower depression and anxiety scores (p?<?.001 and p?<?.005, respectively) and significantly higher mood, motivation, and confidence (all p?<?.001) compared to the UIR sample. AMT participants spent significantly less time on the site (p?<?.05) and were more likely to complete follow-ups than the UIR sample (p?<?.05). Both samples reported a significant increase in their level of confidence and motivation from pre- to post-intervention. AMT participants showed a significant increase in perceived usefulness of the intervention (p?<?.0001), whereas the UIR sample did not (p?=?.1642). Conclusions:By using AMT, researchers can recruit very rapidly and obtain higher retention rates; however, these participants may not be representative of the general online population interested in clinical interventions. Considering that AMT and UIR participants differed in most baseline variables, data from clinical studies resulting from AMT samples should be interpreted with caution.

Project description:IntroductionHazardous alcohol consumption is common among people experiencing depression, often acting to exacerbate depressive symptoms. While many people with these co-occurring disorders do not seek face-to-face treatment, they do seek help online. There are effective internet interventions that target hazardous alcohol consumption or depression separately but none that combine these online interventions without the involvement of a therapist. In order to realise the potential of internet interventions, we need to develop an evidence base supporting the efficacy of internet interventions for co-occurring depression and hazardous alcohol use without any therapist involvement. This study aims to evaluate the effects on drinking, and on depressive symptoms, of combining an internet intervention targeting hazardous alcohol consumption with one for depression.Methods and analysisA double blinded, parallel group randomised controlled trial will be used. Participants with current depression who also drink in a hazardous fashion (n=986) will be recruited for a study to 'help improve an online intervention for depression'. Participants will be randomised either to receive an established online intervention for depression (MoodGYM) or to receive MoodGYM plus a brief internet intervention for hazardous alcohol consumption (Check Your Drinking; CYD). Participants will be contacted 3 and 6 months after receiving the interventions to assess changes in drinking and depression symptoms. It is predicted that participants receiving the CYD intervention in addition to MoodGYM will report greater postintervention reductions in alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms compared with those who received MoodGYM only. Hypothesised mediation and moderation effects will also be investigated. Using an intention-to-treat basis for the analyses, the hypotheses will be tested using a generalised linear hypothesis framework, and longitudinal analyses will use either generalised linear mixed modelling or generalised estimating equation approach where appropriate.Ethics and disseminationThis research comprises the crucial first steps in developing lower-cost and efficacious internet interventions for people suffering from depression who also drink in a hazardous fashion-promoting the widespread availability of care for those in need. This study has been approved by the standing ethics review committee of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and findings will be disseminated in the form of at least one peer-reviewed article and presentations at conferences.Trial registration numberNCT03421080; Pre-results.

Project description:Study objectiveBrief interventions have been shown to reduce alcohol use and improve outcomes in hazardous and harmful drinkers, but evidence to support their use in emergency department (ED) patients is limited. The use of research assessments in studies of brief interventions may contribute to uncertainty about their effectiveness. Therefore we seek to determine (1) if an emergency practitioner-performed Brief Negotiation Interview or a Brief Negotiation Interview with a booster reduces alcohol consumption compared with standard care; and (2) the impact of research assessments on drinking outcomes using a standard care-no-assessment group.MethodsWe randomized 889 adult ED patients with hazardous and harmful drinking. A total of 740 received an emergency practitioner-performed Brief Negotiation Interview (n=297), a Brief Negotiation Interview with a 1-month follow-up telephone booster (Brief Negotiation Interview with booster) (n=295), or standard care (n=148). We also included a standard care with no assessments (n=149) group to examine the effect of assessments on drinking outcomes. Primary outcomes analyzed with mixed-models procedures included past 7-day alcohol consumption and 28-day binge episodes at 6 and 12 months, collected by interactive voice response. Secondary outcomes included negative health behaviors and consequences collected by telephone surveys.ResultsThe reduction in mean number of drinks in the past 7 days from baseline to 6 and 12 months was significantly greater in the Brief Negotiation Interview with booster (from 20.4 [95% confidence interval {CI} 18.8 to 22.0] to 11.6 [95% CI 9.7 to 13.5] to 13.0 [95% CI 10.5 to 15.5]) and Brief Negotiation Interview (from 19.8 [95% CI 18.3 to 21.4] to 12.7 [95% CI 10.8 to 14.6] to 14.3 [95% CI 11.9 to 16.8]) than in standard care (from 20.9 [95% CI 18.7 to 23.2] to 14.2 [95% CI 11.2 to 17.1] to 17.6 [95% CI 14.1 to 21.2]). The reduction in 28-day binge episodes was also greater in the Brief Negotiation Interview with booster (from 7.5 [95% CI 6.8 to 8.2] to 4.4 [95% CI 3.6 to 5.2] to 4.7 [95% CI 3.9 to 5.6]) and Brief Negotiation Interview (from 7.2 [95% CI 6.5 to 7.9] to 4.8 [95% CI 4.0 to 5.6] to 5.1 [95% CI 4.2 to 5.9]) than in standard care (from 7.2 [95% CI 6.2 to 8.2] to 5.7 [95% CI 4.5 to 6.9] to 5.8 [95% CI 4.6 to 7.0]). The Brief Negotiation Interview with booster offered no significant benefit over the Brief Negotiation Interview alone. There were no differences in drinking outcomes between the standard care and standard care-no assessment groups. The reductions in rates of driving after drinking more than 3 drinks from baseline to 12 months were greater in the Brief Negotiation Interview (38% to 29%) and Brief Negotiation Interview with booster (39% to 31%) groups than in the standard care group (43% to 42%).ConclusionEmergency practitioner-performed brief interventions can reduce alcohol consumption and episodes of driving after drinking in hazardous and harmful drinkers. These results support the use of brief interventions in ED settings.

Project description:[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Journal of Family Psychology on Nov 14 2019 (see record 2019-69050-001). In the article, the effect sizes listed in the "Mech. slope the effect sizes listed in the "Mech. slope →CSI slope" and \"Indirect effect of treatment" columns of Table 2 were calculated incorrectly and mistakenly reported as Cohen's d values. These errors do not change any of the conclusions of the study. However, the correct values, column heads, and associated footnote CSI slope" and \"Indirect effect of treatment" columns of Table 2 were calculated incorrectly and mistakenly reported as Cohen's d values. These errors do not change any of the conclusions of the study. However, the correct values, column heads, and associated footnote are presented in the erratum.] Internet delivery of couple interventions is becoming increasingly popular; however, little is known about mechanisms of change during these interventions. One online, self-help relationship intervention-the OurRelationship program-has been shown to improve relationship satisfaction (Doss et al., 2016) during the intervention and to maintain gains through 12-months follow-up (Doss, Roddy, Nowlan, Rothman, & Christensen, 2019). This study seeks to understand mechanisms during and following this program using the same sample of 300 couples (600 individuals) randomly assigned to the program or a waitlist control group. Results from the bivariate growth curves revealed that greater increases in relationship satisfaction during the intervention were explained by improvements in negative communication, emotional intimacy, as well as target problem confidence and severity. However, changes in acceptance of targeted relationship problems, positive communication, and self-protective orientation were not related to changes in satisfaction during the intervention. Additionally, in a multivariate model, relationship target problem severity alone remained significant in the presence of other mechanisms. Improvements in positive and negative communication during the intervention and level of negative communication at the end of the intervention predicted maintenance of gains in satisfaction over 12-month follow-up. Results replicate previous findings that communication (Doss, Thum, Sevier, Atkins, & Christensen, 2005) and emotional intimacy (Doss et al., 2005; Hawrilenko, Gray, & Córdova, 2016) are key components in initial decreases in relationship distress. Furthermore, results suggest that improvements in communication may help couples more effectively navigate problems following the intervention-above and beyond its associations with prepost improvements in satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Project description:BackgroundOne of the advantages of Internet-based research is the ability to efficiently recruit large, diverse samples of international participants. Currently, there is a dearth of information on the behind-the-scenes process to setting up successful online recruitment tools.ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine the comparative impact of Spanish- and English-language keywords for a Google AdWords campaign to recruit pregnant women to an Internet intervention and to describe the characteristics of those who enrolled in the trial.MethodsSpanish- and English-language Google AdWords campaigns were created to advertise and recruit pregnant women to a Web-based randomized controlled trial for the prevention of postpartum depression, the Mothers and Babies/Mamás y Bebés Internet Project. Search engine users who clicked on the ads in response to keyword queries (eg, pregnancy, depression and pregnancy) were directed to the fully automated study website. Data on the performance of keywords associated with each Google ad reflect Web user queries from February 2009 to June 2012. Demographic information, self-reported depression symptom scores, major depressive episode status, and Internet use data were collected from enrolled participants before randomization in the intervention study.ResultsThe Google ads received high exposure (12,983,196 impressions) and interest (176,295 clicks) from a global sample of Web users; 6745 pregnant women consented to participate and 2575 completed enrollment in the intervention study. Keywords that were descriptive of pregnancy and distress or pregnancy and health resulted in higher consent and enrollment rates (i.e., high-performing ads). In both languages, broad keywords (eg, pregnancy) had the highest exposure, more consented participants, and greatest cost per consent (up to US $25.77 per consent). The online ads recruited a predominantly Spanish-speaking sample from Latin America of Mestizo racial identity. The English-speaking sample was also diverse with most participants residing in regions of Asia and Africa. Spanish-speaking participants were significantly more likely to be of Latino ethnic background, not married, completed fewer years of formal education, and were more likely to have accessed the Internet for depression information (P<.001).ConclusionsThe Internet is an effective method for reaching an international sample of pregnant women interested in online interventions to manage changes in their mood during the perinatal period. To increase efficiency, Internet advertisements need to be monitored and tailored to reflect the target population's conceptualization of health issues being studied.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00816725; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00816725 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6LumonjZP).

Dataset Information

Can Amazon's Mechanical Turk be used to recruit participants for internet intervention trials? A pilot study involving a randomized controlled trial of a brief online intervention for hazardous alcohol use.

Publications

Can Amazon's Mechanical Turk be used to recruit participants for internet intervention trials? A pilot study involving a randomized controlled trial of a brief online intervention for hazardous alcohol use.

Similar Datasets

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