Title of Research Project Unique Clicks to Website (n) Beyond Traditional Newspaper Advertisement: Leveraging Facebook Targeted Advertisement to Recruit Long-Term Smokers for Research Lisa Carter-Harris, PhD, RN, ANP-C, Rebecca J. Bartlett Ellis, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, & Susan M. Rawl, PhD, RN, FAAN Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, Indiana Title of Research Project Researcher’s Name Department(s), University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY Background Methods Results Recruitment 18-day social media recruitment campaign using Facebook targeted advertisement Procedures Facebook ad targeted by age and keywords related to tobacco smoking in Facebook users profile, interests, and/or likes: Keywords included “tobacco”; “tobacco smoking”; “smoking”; “smoking cessation”; “cigarettes”; “electronic cigarettes” Table 2. Facebook Advertising Metrics of 18-day Campaign Variable Reach (n) Unique Clicks to Website (n) Spent (cost per click) Total 56,621 1,121 $500.00 Ad Placement Desktop Right Side 4,527 22 $0.32 Desktop Newsfeed 7,409 190 $0.30 Mobile Newsfeed 42,059 894 $0.48 Audience Network 1,015 7 $0.11 Gender Women 35,581 722 Men 20,269 378 $0.40 Unspecified 772 21 $0.29 Age 55-64 31,004 602 $0.44 65+ 25,617 519 $0.46 Smokers are a stigmatized population, but an important population to reach for the purpose of research. Innovative recruitment methods are needed. Facebook has previously been used to recruit young adult smokers into health-related research and may be successful to recruit older adult smokers. Facebook has over 1.5 billion active daily users worldwide; In the U.S., 71% of adults use Facebook. Facebook is visited by 63% of individuals aged 50 to 64 and by 56% of individuals aged 65 and older in a typical day. Using Facebook advertisement, researchers can market a recruitment campaign targeted by age, location, and keywords identified in the user’s profile and/or interest list. Figure 1. Facebook Recruitment Ad Results Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of Facebook targeted advertisement to recruit long-term smokers eligible for lung cancer screening for a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Conclusions Key Definitions Health behavior research related to lung cancer screening participation is important and recruitment of current and long-term smokers is critical to success. Facebook targeted advertisement was successful for recruitment of older current and former long-term smokers in this cross-sectional, descriptive study. Facebook targeted advertisement offers the opportunity to reach a large number of potential participants at a low cost while providing privacy and anonymity increasing likelihood of recruiting a population that may experience stigma. Researchers who desire to reach individuals engaging in lifestyle behaviors that may be stigmatized should consider Facebook as a viable option for study recruitment. A newsfeed is a constantly updating list of stories in the middle of a Facebook user’s homepage. An impression refers to the number of times an ad enters the screen for the first time (i.e., is ‘served’ to someone) either in their desktop newsfeed, mobile newsfeed, or as a right hand column ad. Reach refers to the number of people to whom the advertisement was shown. A click to website refers to a unique Facebook user clicking the web link embedded in the Facebook ad. Table 1. Participant Sociodemographics Total n (%) Gender Female Male 194 (58) 137 (41) Race/Ethnicity White Black 305 (92) 20 (6) Education Less than High School High School Graduate Some College College Graduate 14 (4) 98 (30) 139 (42) 81 (24) Annual Income Less then $25K $25K – 50K More than $50K 104 (31) 157 (47) 68 (21) Smoking Status Current Smoker Former Smoker 162 (49) 167 (51) Methods Acknowledgements Study Design Part of a larger study to psychometrically test the newly developed Lung Cancer Screening Health Belief Scales Descriptive, cross-sectional design Data collection with survey methodology Inclusion Criteria Aged 55 to 77 years Current or former smoker (if former, quit within past 15 years) 30 pack-year tobacco smoking history or more Not diagnosed with lung cancer This work was supported by Grant 5T32 NR007066 from the National Institute of Nursing Research Health Nursing and the Sigma Theta Tau International Iota Zeta Research Grant.