Recruitment and retention in young adult health research: Motivations and barriers

To provide insights into the motivations, challenges, and preferred methods of contact that influence the recruitment and retention of young adults (YAs) in health research.

We designed, collected, and analyzed two surveys targeting YAs aged 18-39 years through the Amazon MTurk platform, to assess factors influencing recruitment and retention in health studies. The recruitment survey (n = 477) examined initial engagement motivations, while the retention survey (n = 473) explored factors that sustain long-term participation. Descriptive analyses were stratified by age group and sex.

The recruitment survey indicated that 88% of YAs were willing to participate in health studies, with a preference for online formats (78%). Social media, particularly Facebook (53%), was endorsed as the most common platform for discovering research opportunities. Monetary incentives were reported as the top motivator across all age groups, especially for those aged 35-39 years, with gift cards endorsed as the most appealing to participants aged 18-34. Retention survey results indicated that email (100%) was the most preferred method for maintaining engagement, followed by text messages (78.9%) and social media (62.2%). Text messages (65%), regular updates (56%) and sharing of study results (54%) were identified as key factors for maintaining participant engagement.

Our findings identify that YA participation is driven by a mix of altruistic motivations, such as contributing to the community and research, and personal motivations, including personal health benefits and financial incentives, emphasizing the need for strategies that address both aspects of recruitment and retention motivations.