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Social media cost-effective in reaching patients to recruit for trials, learn treatment needs
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SAN FRANCISCO — Social media provided the greatest return on investment for researchers gauging the interest of patients with migraines in participating in a study of a nonopioid, nondrug treatment for their condition, according to a presenter here at the American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting.
Rebecca E. Wells, MD, MPH, FAHS , associate professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem North Carolina, told attendees that she used social media, flyers, brochures, printed ads, television, email, provider referral and clinicaltrials.gov to advertise her “Stress Reduction for Migraines” study.
Most of these methods were then posted on the institution’s social media outlets, where they generated 463,946 views; 2,128 engagements; 1,073,559 impressions and 1,648 clicks, she said.
“To be able to capture almost 500,000 views and over a million impressions ... for just over $3,500 ... is a huge number when you consider that the town of Winston-Salem has a population of about 240,000 and the greater Winston-Salem area is about 1.6 million. So while I’m very thankful to NIH for supporting this research, I was working with a small, limited budget. I was very proud to reach that many people on such a small budget,” Wells said.
“Social media has been a very efficient, cost-effective tool that we have been able to use to capture those individuals that are interested in this type of intervention, whether they be providers or patients,” she continued, adding that these results suggest there is a “dramatic need” and “tremendous demand” for nonopioid, nondrug treatments in patients with migraines. – by Janel Miller
Reference: Wells RE, et al. Interest and demand for nonopioid, nondrug treatment. Presented at: American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting; June 28-July 1, 2018; San Francisco.
Disclosure: Wells reports no relevant financial disclosures. Healio Family Medicine was unable to determine the other authors’ relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.