Recruiting Cancer Survivors to a Mobile Mindfulness Intervention in the United States: Exploring Online and Face-to-Face Recruitment Strategies

Celine Isabelle Arnobit, Kiana Loo, Ian Pagano, Mai Uchiyama, Jami Fukui, Christa Braun-Inglis and Erin O’Carroll Bantum
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Celine Isabelle Arnobit: Cancer Prevention in the Pacific, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Kiana Loo: School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Ian Pagano: Cancer Prevention in the Pacific, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Mai Uchiyama: Cancer Prevention in the Pacific, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Jami Fukui: Cancer Biology, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Christa Braun-Inglis: Cancer Biology, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Erin O’Carroll Bantum: Cancer Prevention in the Pacific, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: Cancer survivorship research faces several recruitment challenges, such as accrual of a representative sample, as well as participant retention. Our study explores patterns in recruited demographics, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and retention rates for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) utilizing a mobile mindfulness intervention for the well-being of cancer survivors. In total, 123 participants were recruited using traditional and online strategies. Using the chi-square test of independence, recruitment type was compared with demographic and clinical variables, PROs, and retention at Time 2 and Time 3. Online recruitment resulted in almost double the yield compared to traditional recruitment. Online-recruited participants were more often younger, from the continental U.S., Caucasian, diagnosed and treated less recently, at a later stage of diagnosis, diagnosed with blood cancer, without high blood pressure, and with less reported pain. The recruitment method was not significantly associated with retention. Online recruitment may capture a larger, broader survivor sample, but, similar to traditional recruitment, may also lead to selection biases depending on where efforts are focused. Future research should assess the reasons underlying the higher yield and retention rates of online recruitment and should evaluate how to apply a mix of traditional and online recruitment strategies to efficiently accrue samples that are representative of the survivor population.

Keywords: recruitment; online; survivorship; mindfulness; mobile intervention; psychosocial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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