It's not raining men: a mixed-methods study investigating methods of improving male recruitment to health behaviour research

BackgroundAlthoughgender is an important determinant of health behaviour with males less likely to perform health-protective behaviours, samples in health behaviour research are heavily biased towards females. This study investigated the use of online social network, Facebook,to reach and recruit inactive males to a team-based, social, and gamified physical activity randomised controlled trial.MethodsMethodological techniquesincluded a narrative literature review, survey of inactive males (n=34) who rated advertisement images and text captions on scales of 1-10, and trial Facebook-delivered recruitment campaigns. Advertisement effectiveness was measured by cost-per-click to the study website, number of expressions of interest, and study enrolments from males.ResultsSurvey results showed that vibrant images of men exercising accompanied by concise captions (<35 words) were most effective. An advertising campaign incorporating these components achieved a cost-per-click of $0.60, with 80% of n=50 expressions of interest being frommen, a marked improvement from baseline campaigns in which only 11% of expressions of interest were from men. Despite this, men who were recruitedthrough the targeted campaign failed to enrol into the study, primarily due to reluctance to invite friends to join their team. An alternative strategy of encouraging females to invite men boosted male participation from 18% of the sample at baseline to 29% in the targeted recruitment phase.ConclusionsEvidence-based approaches can improve Facebook recruitment outcomes, however, there are complexbarriers hindering male recruitment to health behaviour studies thatmay necessitate multi-faceted strategies including involvement of family and friends.