title: Recruiting for research studies using online public advertisements: examples from research in affective disorders.
abstract: Successful recruitment is vital for any research study. Difficulties in recruitment are not uncommon and can have important implications. This is particularly relevant to research conducted in affective disorders due to the nature of the conditions and the clinical services that serve these patients. Recently, online public advertisements have become more generally accessible and may provide an effective way to recruit patient populations. However, there is paucity of evidence on their viability as a method of recruiting patients into studies of disease mechanisms in these disorders. Public advertisement methods can be useful when researchers require specific populations, such as those not receiving pharmacological treatment. This work describes our experience in successfully recruiting participants into neuroimaging research studies in affective disorders using online public advertisements. Results suggest that these online public advertisements are an effective method for successfully recruiting participants with affective disorders into research studies, particularly for research focusing on disease mechanisms in specific populations.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Toby
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arnone
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marwood
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK; Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Manchester, UK; Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zahn
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Manchester, UK; Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Lythe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Allan H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Young
keywords: advertising; affective disorders; anxiety; bipolar; depression; recruitment