Web-Delivered Multimedia Training Materials for the Self-Collection of Dried Blood Spots: A Formative Project

BACKGROUND: The use of dried blood spots (DBS) in biomedical research has been increasing as an objective measure for variables that are typically plagued by self-report, such as smoking status and medication adherence. The development of training materials for the self-collection of DBS that can be delivered through the Web would allow for broader use of this methodology. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the self-collection of DBS using newly developed multimedia training materials that were delivered through the Web. We also aimed to assess the usability of the collected DBS samples. METHODS: We recruited participants through Facebook advertising for two distinct studies. The first study evaluated the acceptability of our newly developed DBS training materials, while the second assessed the implementation of this protocol into a larger Web-based study. RESULTS: In the first study, participants (N=115) were aged, on average, 26.1 (SD 6.4) years. Training materials were acceptable (113/115, 98.2%, of participants were willing to collect DBS again) and produced usable samples (110/115, 95.7%, collected DBS were usable). In the second study, response rate was 25.0% (41/164), with responders being significantly younger than nonresponders (20.3 [SD 0.2] vs 22.0 [SD 0.4]; P<.001), and 92% (31/41) of collected DBS samples were usable by the laboratory. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, while the protocol is acceptable, feasible, and produced usable samples, additional work is needed to improve response rates.