Online-Based Recruitment Methods for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Scoping Review and Lessons Learned From the PLAN Trial
Authors: Min Deborah , Yun Ji-Young , Parslow Chad , Jajodia Anushka , Han Hae-Ra 
Published: February 2025

Background

Despite rapid technological advancement and a considerably aging US population, there remains a gap in the literature pertaining to online-based recruitment strategies for older adults.

Objective

This study aimed to describe the lessons learned from the authors’ experience of recruiting a sample for PLAN (Preparing successful aging through dementia Literacy education And Navigation), an ongoing, community-based randomized controlled trial designed to promote the transition of community-dwelling Korean American older adults with probable dementia and their caregivers into the health care system. The authors also present online-based recruitment strategies focused on older adults reported in relevant published studies to compare with their experiences.

Methods

Data sources included PLAN recruitment tracking files, study team meeting minutes, and interviews with community consultants. We also conducted a scoping review of published studies, searching PubMed in July 2021, and updated our search in September 2023. Eligibility criteria included (1) focus on older adults aged more than 65 years, (2) sample recruited from a community setting, and (3) inclusion and description of online-based recruitment strategies. Exclusion criteria (1) did not focus on adults older than 65 years in a community setting, (2) did not include or describe online-based recruitment strategies, or (3) used online-based methods but not for the purpose of recruitment. The review followed the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Information was extracted using a data charting table and synthesized by conducting a thematic analysis.

Results

In total, 8 articles were included in the scoping review and primarily addressed health promotion and recruitment strategy evaluation. When compared with PLAN data sources, five key themes emerged as relevant to the online-based recruitment of community-dwelling older adults: (1) unfamiliarity with technology—limited digital literacy, (2) differences in internet access and use across older age groups, (3) providing technological support to promote recruitment, (4) successful and unsuccessful recruitment using social media, and (5) other diverse online-based methods of recruitment. In particular, direct quotes from multiple sources for the PLAN trial revealed technological challenges that were common among immigrant older adults as the study team used various online-based recruitment activities.

Conclusions

The literature was limited in the discussion of online-based recruitment among older participants. Data sources revealed the digital divide and limited digital literacy, particularly among non–English-speaking immigrant older adults and their caregivers. The usefulness of online-based recruitment of older adults is uncertain due, in large part, to limited sociodemographic diversity noted in the samples recruited in the included studies. Future research should explore the role of race and ethnicity and other characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, sex, education, access to technology, and digital literacy, in relation to online-based recruitment for adequate representation of diverse older adults in research.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03909347; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03909347