title: Social Media Use in Research: Engaging Communities in Cohort Studies to Support Recruitment and Retention.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This paper presents the first formal evaluation of social media (SM) use in the National Children's Study (NCS). The NCS is a prospective, longitudinal study of the effects of environment and genetics on children's health, growth and development. The Study employed a multifaceted community outreach campaign in combination with a SM campaign to educate participants and their communities about the Study. SM essentially erases geographic differences between people due to its omnipresence, which was an important consideration in this multi-site national study. Using SM in the research setting requires an understanding of potential threats to confidentiality and privacy and the role that posted content plays as an extension of the informed consent process.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This pilot demonstrates the feasibility of creating linkages and databases to measure and compare SM with new content and engagement metrics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Metrics presented include basic use metrics for Facebook as well as newly created metrics to assist with Facebook content and engagement analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increasing Likes per month demonstrates that online communities can be quickly generated. Content and Engagement analyses describe what content of posts NCS Study Centers were using, what content they were posting about, and what the online NCS communities found most engaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These metrics highlight opportunities to optimize time and effort while determining the content of future posts. Further research about content analysis, optimal metrics to describe engagement in research, the role of localized content and stakeholders, and social media use in participant recruitment is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland, ME, United States.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3349-7557
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Farina-Henry
authors.forename: Leo B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1261-0650
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Waterston
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2347-1457
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Blaisdell
keywords: community outreach; longitudinal studies; pilot project; social media