Purposive facebook recruitment endows cost-effective nutrition education program evaluation

Area of Science:

• Public Health Nutrition
• Health Communication
• Social Media Research

Background:

• Legislation mandates evidence-based nutrition education in federal programs.
• Recruiting low-income individuals for nutrition studies is challenging and expensive.
• Social media platforms like Facebook offer a cost-effective recruitment solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate Facebook's effectiveness in recruiting participants for an online nutrition education program.
• To specifically recruit individuals eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed).

Main Methods:

• Targeted English-speaking, low-income Pennsylvanians (18-55 years) using Facebook ads with relevant keywords.
• Participants completed online surveys, viewed nutrition programs (Eating Together as a Family or Everyone Needs Folic Acid), and evaluated them.
• Facebook ad parameters (cost, daily spending, reach) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Successful recruitment for both nutrition programs via Facebook ads.
• Completion rates: 5.8%-9.2% of ad clickers and 64%-66% of site visitors.
• Cost per evaluation: $18.88-$25.48; cost per low-income completer: $27.53-$39.92.

Conclusions:

• Facebook is a successful strategy for recruiting low-income individuals to online nutrition program evaluations.
• This method provides real-time management, lower costs, and greater efficiency than traditional recruitment.
• Addressing repeated survey attempts is necessary to optimize this recruitment approach.