Health Research Using Facebook to Identify and Recruit Pregnant Women Who Use Electronic Cigarettes: Internet-Based Nonrandomized Pilot Study.
Harold H LeeYuli Patrick HsiehJoe MurphyJennifer W TideyDavid A SavitzPublished in: JMIR research protocols (2019)
Study findings suggest that Facebook's targeting criteria should focus on e-cigarette users to maximize advertisement exposure of potentially eligible women. In addition, saliva sample collection was feasible among pregnant women (second or third trimester) who were exclusive e-cigarette users, but obtaining photographs and physician reports was problematic and called for further refinement. These lessons are likely useful to others who are seeking to use social media to recruit participants from rare populations into studies with demanding protocols.