Social media channels and companies have realized the benefits of attracting more and more audience, and businesses do not hesitate to spend a fortune to get their space in the online market. The social media is a free way for companies to get some sensitive data about their clients. Therefore, in the mist of online competition, clinical trial recruitment is also becoming more and more focused on social media and Facebook, in particular.
Clinical trial recruitment is among the most important aspects to consider when conducting a study (Topolovec-Vranic & Natarajan, 2016). Recruiting participants for medical studies is crucial, but it often leads to delays, negative outcomes, and incredible costs for the whole study. Even the best research idea, which might be supported by a creative team and advanced technological methods, can fail due to ineffective or delayed clinical trial recruitment.
The tricky part is not only to attract participants but to find eligible and representative subjects for your study, and keep your target population motivated and engaged throughout the whole study. As mentioned above, it’s not only the size of the sample or the participants’ characteristics that should be considered: timing is also challenging. In fact, figures reveal that less than 10% of studies are executed on time due to bad clinical trial recruitment practices (“e-Recruiting: Using Digital Platforms, Social Media, and Mobile Technologies to Improve Clinical Trial Enrollment,” 2013).