Using social media for research during COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

Resumen

We aim to share our experience of participants recruitment for the Prospective Study about Mental and Physical Health (PAMPA) cohort study using social media. The recruitment strategies were based mainly on social media. The inclusion criteria were being 18 years old or more and resident of Rio Grande do Sul state. In the survey’s official Facebook^® and Instagram^® page some strategies were adopted, such as weekly posting schedule, use of hashtags, organic publications, and boosted publications. Over the first 13 days of study, 1773 people were reached by an organic engagement. Boosted campaigns increased the average interactions reaching a total of 34,376 people, leading to 857 clicks on the survey’s link. Social media is a useful tool for participants recruitment strategy in epidemiological researches. However, internet-based approaches aiming to reach a more heterogeneous sample should be developed.