Obtaining contextually relevant geographic data using Facebook recruitment in public health studies

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Geospatial Health Data

Background:

• Traditional recruitment methods for public health studies are declining in efficiency.
• E-epidemiology offers new avenues for reaching diverse populations and conducting large-scale research.
• Online recruitment, specifically social media, presents opportunities for collecting detailed health-related data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using Facebook for participant recruitment in public health research.
• To evaluate the quality of geospatial data (residential and work addresses) collected via Facebook.
• To demonstrate how Facebook recruitment can enhance the collection of location-based health data.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted in St. Louis, Missouri.
• Participants were recruited through targeted Facebook advertisements.
• Data collected included self-reported neighborhood characteristics, perceived stress, and residential/work addresses.

Main Results:

• 425 participants were recruited via Facebook.
• While ZIP codes were universally reported, complete street addresses were obtained from 64.7% for residential and 45.6% for work locations.
• Participants providing complete residential addresses were more likely to be female.

Conclusions:

• Facebook recruitment is a viable and efficient method for collecting valuable geospatial health data.
• This approach can improve understanding of the influence of place on health outcomes.
• Social media platforms represent an underutilized resource for cost-effective and flexible participant recruitment in public health.