TY - JOUR
T1 - Recruiting for a Randomized Clinical Trial for Late-Life Depression During COVID-19
T2 - Outcomes of Provider Referrals Versus Facebook Self-Referrals
AU - Ainsworth, Nicholas J.
AU - Wright, Hailey
AU - Tereshchenko, Ksenya
AU - Blumberger, Daniel M.
AU - Flint, Alastair J.
AU - Lenze, Eric J.
AU - Perivolaris, Athina
AU - Mulsant, Benoit H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19. Methods: The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time. Results: Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = −0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance. Conclusion: Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19. Methods: The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time. Results: Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = −0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance. Conclusion: Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Depression
KW - aging
KW - clinical research
KW - virtual care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149849795&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.01.021
DO - 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.01.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 36849329
AN - SCOPUS:85149849795
SN - 1064-7481
VL - 31
SP - 366
EP - 371
JO - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
JF - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
IS - 5
ER -