Social Media Recruitment

Social media has emerged as a widely used and powerful communication tool. It is therefore no surprise that it has become a major platform for advertising to the public. Given its widespread usage and reach, it is increasingly being applied to reach potential participants to inform them about clinical research and to encourage participation.

This is a new resource. We'd love to hear how you're finding it:

Give your feedback

To assist researchers and highlighting the specific compliance requirements, the VCCC Alliance, with input from The Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Childrens' Research Institute, and Austin Health have collaborated on a quick-reference page, resources, and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.

In this section you'll find:

For a procedural overview, please download the below Guidance Document.

Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 2

Background Information

Anything that promotes a trial is considered advertising. Social media advertisements may include videos or the paid advert for a specific study on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Ads or Instagram, or a post on the institution’s social media web page.

Social media and traditional advertising are actually very similar. However, because social media has a wider reach and people may be able to publicly comment on the advertisement/post, there are additional privacy concerns to consider - when adverts are posted on social media, people can leave comments and are identifiable. There need to be safeguards to ensure that these people are aware of the implication of leaving comments or ‘liking’ the post. Additionally, it is important to make sure that the social media companies do not collect personal, private, or sensitive information on behalf of the Sponsor and/or Principal Investigator.

HREC/Governance approval remains a requirement for all advertising materials. The advertisements should be clear about the purpose of the study. ICH GCP requires that advertising materials are appropriate and not coercive, and The National Statement states that ‘recruitment materials’, including social media posts, should follow the ethics principles of justice and respect.

Click on the table below to view the quick comparison document.

Social Media Guidance Table 1

HREC need to know:

  • Which social media sites will be used

  • Who the audience is and how you will reach them

  • Duration of the advertising campaign

  • The URL link

  • The key message

  • Headline

  • Description

  • Who is paying for the advertisement?

  • What measures are in place to protect the privacy of those that respond to the post

Use this link to download an editable word version to begin brainstorming your social media advertisement, and ensure you are considering all the above.

Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 3

 

How to Proceed

I’m part of an Investigator Initiated Trial and ready to submit my trial submission package to HREC. What should I do next?

There are two main ways to include the social media recruitment information.  

In the protocol
Embed as part of the recruitment guidance. Please see the below template example kindly provided by Austin Health below, section 3.3. This is an excerpt from a non-interventional study.

Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 4

As an appendix
You set out the principles you need to adhere to when creating a social media strategy similar to below:

Social Media

As described above social media will be used to recruit participants. Social media is going to be used because [e.g. it will allow for recruitment of a wider audience that we are unable to recruitment from the hospital alone]. We intend to use [Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads etc] to advertise to [insert target audience e.g. adults 18 years and older]. Advertising is expected to last for [insert duration e.g. 6 months] and begin [specific date or as soon as all necessary approvals have been provided]

Please see below for an outline of the planned advertisements.

Link: Insert URL to recruitment page
Key Message: What is the one thing people need to know about this clinical trial
Headline: 25 characters max
Description including any images: 100 characters max 

I’m part of a commercially sponsored trial and ready to gain approval for my advertising. What should I do next?

Option 2 from above can be used as guidance and attached as an appendix to your protocol. This can be a site specific or project specific appendix. Download an editable version of this guidance below.

Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 5

Additional Considerations

If the institution allows you to use their account, then you can. You should let the HREC know this. Be aware that the advert will also need to comply with the institution’s own guidelines.

Someone needs to act as the Administrator and review/moderate the comments generated from the social media post. This person should be from the study team, but not a student, as students need to be supervised. It is often beneficial to turn off the option of commenting on this post.

If you receive negative comments, or need a second opinion before responding, please contact your Research Integrity office (or complaints person) to discuss best ways to respond.

It is important to ensure the social media companies do not collect personal, private, or sensitive information on behalf of the Sponsor and/or Principal Investigator. It is also preferable if comments are turned off as part of advertising campaign.

Resources

Collated downloadable resources and guidance documents

Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 2 Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 3 Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 4  
Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 5 Social Media Recruitment in Clinical Trials Buttons 1
Get the latest in cancer news, events and more, direct to your inbox
Join a network of Victorian cancer researchers, clinicians and consumers to keep your finger on the pulse.