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. 2017 Mar 8;19(3):e61.
doi: 10.2196/jmir.5745.

Online Recruitment: Feasibility, Cost, and Representativeness in a Study of Postpartum Women

Liana S Leach  1 , Peter Butterworth  2   3 , Carmel Poyser  4 , Philip J Batterham  4 , Louise M Farrer  4
Affiliations

Online Recruitment: Feasibility, Cost, and Representativeness in a Study of Postpartum Women

Liana S Leach et al. J Med Internet Res. .

Abstract

Background: 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.

Objective: The current study investigates the feasibility of recruiting a population of postpartum women online for health research and examines sample representativeness.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: Potential exists for feasible and low-cost e-epidemiological research with postpartum populations; however, researchers should consider the potential influence of sample nonrepresentativeness.

Keywords: Internet; feasibility; online; postpartum; recruitment; representativeness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

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