Multimodal Recruitment to Study Ovulation and Menstruation Health: Internet-Based Survey Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Multimodal recruitment strategies are a novel way to increase diversity in research populations. However, these methods have not been previously applied to understanding the prevalence of menstrual disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of recruiting a diverse cohort to complete a web-based survey on ovulation and menstruation health.

Methods: We conducted the Ovulation and Menstruation Health Pilot Study using a REDCap web-based survey platform. We recruited 200 women from a clinical population, a community fair, and the internet.

Results: We recruited 438 women over 29 weeks between September 2017 and March 2018. After consent and eligibility determination, 345 enrolled, 278 started (clinic: n=43; community fair: n=61; internet: n=174), and 247 completed (clinic: n=28; community fair: n=60; internet: n=159) the survey. Among all participants, the median age was 25.0 (SD 6.0) years, mean BMI was 26.1 kg/m² (SD 6.6), 79.7% (216/271) had a college degree or higher, and 14.6% (37/254) reported a physician diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome. Race and ethnicity distributions were 64.7% (176/272) White, 11.8% (32/272) Black/African American, 7.7% (21/272) Latina/Hispanic, and 5.9% (16/272) Asian individuals; 9.9% (27/272) reported more than one race or ethnicity. The highest enrollment of Black/African American individuals was in clinic (17/42, 40.5%) compared to 1.6% (1/61) in the community fair and 8.3% (14/169) using the internet. Survey completion rates were highest among those who were recruited from the internet (159/174, 91.4%) and community fairs (60/61, 98.4%) compared to those recruited in clinic (28/43, 65.1%).

Conclusions: Multimodal recruitment achieved target recruitment in a short time period and established a racially diverse cohort to study ovulation and menstruation health. There were greater enrollment and completion rates among those recruited via the internet and community fair.

Keywords: PCOS; epidemiology; feasibility; menstrual; menstrual cycle; multimodal recruitment strategy; online survey; ovulation; pilot; polycystic ovary syndrome; recruitment; strategy; women.