Adapting Recruitment of College Students for the Snackability Trial During COVID-19 in the U.S.

OBJECTIVES: With COVID-19 pandemic, the recruitment of participants for research had to adapt to new formats. The objective of this analysis was to describe the different recruitment methods of college students for the Snackability Trial during COVID-19. We also examined the reasons for exclusion in the study. The Snackability Trial is a randomized controlled trial to test the Snackability mobile app designed and developed at FIU to help students identify healthy snacks by providing a score from 0–11 (the higher the score, the healthier the snack) based on the USDA snack guidelines. METHODS: This is a review of the online screening and baseline surveys completed by students using Qualtrics between June 2020 and January 2021 for the Snackability Trial. Students aged 18–24 y, from non-nutrition majors, overweight, owner of a smartphone, and willing to be randomized in either the intervention or control group for 3 months were recruited through emails sent by professors and university staff, social media ads, on-campus flyers, and others. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the frequency of each recruitment method and reasons for exclusion. RESULTS: Out of 768 participants that initiated the screening questionnaire, 629 (82%) were 18–24y. Out 629, 569 (92%) were from non-nutrition majors. Out of 569, 328 (58%) provided data to calculate BMI and qualified. Out of 328, 309 (94%) had a smartphone. Out of 309, 294 (98%) were willing to be randomized and 280 (95%) were willing to participate for 3 months. Out of 280, only 154 (55%) completed the consent form and the baseline survey. Those that enrolled were mostly female (85%). When asked about “how did you hear about the study”, 81.8% reported that a professor or staff from the university sent them the study flyer by email, 9.5% heard from social media, including Instagram, 5.8% heard from other students or friends, and 2.9% learned about the study through flyers posted on campus. After examining the data from Instagram paid ads, a total of 3 posts were promoted with a budget of $65 reaching a total of 8,536 individuals with only 8 promotion clicks. CONCLUSIONS: Amid the transition into a fully virtual recruiting format during the pandemic, the most effective recruiting method in this study was sending emails to students through their professors and university staff with the study flyer. FUNDING SOURCES: Florida International University (FIU)