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Potential of Online Recruitment Among 15-25-Year Olds: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.


ABSTRACT:

Background

Recruiting young people for health and intervention studies by traditional methods has become increasingly challenging. The widespread access to the internet may offer new strategies for online recruitment.

Objective

This study aims to assess the feasibility of online recruitment for a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of Mindhelper, an online national youth mental health promotion service. The target group was young Danes aged 15-25 in need of mental health promotion.

Methods

Advertisements for recruitment were set up on Facebook and Instagram. Browser history was collected for a subsample of participants. We compared basic characteristics of participants who completed the baseline survey and those who did not, as well as of participants who completed the follow-up survey and those who were lost to follow-up. The significance of these differences was tested with the Pearson chi-square test.

Results

A total of 560 Danes aged 15-25 were recruited within 1 month (ie, had completed the baseline survey). Among these participants, 356 (63.6%) were at risk of developing depression or stress. The average advertisement price per participant completing the baseline questionnaire was 31 DKK (approximately €4 [US $4.2]). The follow-up survey was sent to 545 participants, of whom 318 (58.3%) completed the survey. No statistically significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics of participants who completed the follow-up and those who were lost to follow-up in terms of gender (P=.45), age (P=.35), occupation (P=.17), cohabitation (P=.90), mental well-being (P=.26), mental illness (P=.44; impact of the illness, P=.05), or use of the internet when having a hard time (P=.92).

Conclusions

We conclude that it is feasible to recruit young Danes online for a large-scale randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of Mindhelper.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04650906; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04650906.

SUBMITTER: Hoffmann SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9178448 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Potential of Online Recruitment Among 15-25-Year Olds: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

Hoffmann Sofie Have SH   Paldam Folker Anna A   Buskbjerg Mark M   Paldam Folker Marie M   Huber Jezek Andrea A   Lyngsø Svarta Durita D   Nielsen Sølvhøj Ida I   Thygesen Lau L  

JMIR formative research 20220525 5


<h4>Background</h4>Recruiting young people for health and intervention studies by traditional methods has become increasingly challenging. The widespread access to the internet may offer new strategies for online recruitment.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aims to assess the feasibility of online recruitment for a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of Mindhelper, an online national youth mental health promotion service. The target group was young Danes aged 15-25 in need of me  ...[more]

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