title: Overcoming recruitment challenges of web-based interventions for tobacco use: the case of web-based acceptance and commitment therapy for smoking cessation.
abstract: Web-based behavioral interventions for substance use are being developed at a rapid pace, yet there is a dearth of information regarding the most effective methods for recruiting participants into web-based intervention trials. In this paper, we describe our successful recruitment of participants into a pilot trial of web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for smoking cessation and compare traditional and web-based methods of recruitment in terms of their effects on baseline participant characteristics, association with study retention and treatment outcome, yield, and cost-effectiveness. Over a 10-week period starting June 15, 2010, we recruited 222 smokers for a web-based smoking cessation study using a variety of recruitment methods. The largest portion of randomized participants were recruited through Google AdWords (36%), followed by medical Internet media (23%), standard media (14%), word of mouth (12%), broadcast emails (11%), and social media (6%). Recruitment source was not related to baseline participant characteristics, 3-month data retention, or 30-day point prevalence smoking abstinence at the 3-month outcome assessment. Cost per randomized participant ranged from $5.27/participant for word of mouth to $172.76/participant for social media, with a mean cost of $42.48/participant. Our diversified approach to recruitment, including both traditional and web-based methods, enabled timely enrollment of participants into the study. Because there was no evidence of a substantive difference in baseline characteristics, retention, or outcomes based on recruitment channel, the yield and cost-effectiveness of recruitment methods may be the more critical considerations in developing a feasible recruitment plan for a web-based smoking cessation intervention study.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA. jheffner@fhcrc.org
authors.forename: Jaimee L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Heffner
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wyszynski
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Comstock
authors.forename: Laina D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Mercer
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bricker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising / Q000191:economics; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018579:Patient Selection; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D060756:Social Networking; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Recruitment; Smoking cessation; Tobacco dependence; eHealth