title: Online Recruitment: Feasibility, Cost, and Representativeness in a Study of Postpartum Women.
abstract: Online recruitment is feasible, low-cost, and can provide high-quality epidemiological data. However, little is known about the feasibility of recruiting postpartum women online, or sample representativeness.
  
  
  
  The current study investigates the feasibility of recruiting a population of postpartum women online for health research and examines sample representativeness.
  
  
  
  Two samples of postpartum women were compared: those recruited online as participants in a brief survey of new mothers (n=1083) and those recruited face-to-face as part of a nationally representative study (n=579). Sociodemographic, general health, and mental health characteristics were compared between the two samples.
  
  
  
  Obtaining a sample of postpartum women online for health research was highly efficient and low-cost. The online sample over-represented those who were younger (aged 25-29 years), were in a de facto relationship, had higher levels of education, spoke only English at home, and were first-time mothers. Members of the online sample were significantly more likely to have poor self-rated health and poor mental health than the nationally representative sample. Health differences remained after adjusting for sociodemographic differences.
  
  
  
  Potential exists for feasible and low-cost e-epidemiological research with postpartum populations; however, researchers should consider the potential influence of sample nonrepresentativeness.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Liana S
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3686-2553
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Leach
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.|Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1531-3881
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9190-6056
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poyser
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4547-6876
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Batterham
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Louise M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5694-4631
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Farrer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D018579:Patient Selection; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Internet; feasibility; online; postpartum; recruitment; representativeness