Using Social Media to Facilitate Communication About Women's Testing: Tool Validation Study

Area of Science:

• Public Health Research
• Genetics
• Social Media Analytics

Background:

• Traditional participant recruitment is challenging, costly, and inefficient.
• Difficult-to-reach populations are often not adequately targeted.
• Social media offers a powerful tool for targeted outreach and leveraging social networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate Facebook's effectiveness for recruiting women aged 30 and older.
• To assess social media as an outreach tool for the MAGENTA study.
• To improve genetic testing accessibility for hereditary cancer susceptibility.

Main Methods:

• Utilized paid and unpaid social media posts for participant recruitment.
• Collaborated with patient advocates to enhance outreach efforts.
• Employed Facebook analytics to measure the effectiveness of recruitment strategies.

Main Results:

• Facebook reached 407,769 individuals with 14.04% engagement.
• Paid ads reached 373,682 individuals with 14.48% engagement.
• Women aged 65+ showed the highest response rate (43.95% engagement).

Conclusions:

• Facebook is a valuable tool for enhancing clinical trial recruitment among women aged 30+.
• Promoting news stories and collaborating with advocacy groups boosts social media recruitment.
• Integrated paid and unpaid campaigns effectively increased study reach and engagement.