A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey
Introduction Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs) are under-represented in research. The Internet and social media could increase the reach of recruitment efforts but may impact sample characteristics. This study evaluated the characteristics of AYAs recruited in-person at an ur...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231205278 |
| _version_ | 1797648790060007424 |
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| author | Jacqueline L Bender Rukayyah Akinnibosun Natasha Puri Norma D’Agostino Emily K Drake Argerie Tsimicalis A Fuchsia Howard Sheila N Garland Karine Chalifour Abha A Gupta |
| author_facet | Jacqueline L Bender Rukayyah Akinnibosun Natasha Puri Norma D’Agostino Emily K Drake Argerie Tsimicalis A Fuchsia Howard Sheila N Garland Karine Chalifour Abha A Gupta |
| author_sort | Jacqueline L Bender |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs) are under-represented in research. The Internet and social media could increase the reach of recruitment efforts but may impact sample characteristics. This study evaluated the characteristics of AYAs recruited in-person at an urban hospital versus the Internet in terms of their sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and psychosocial wellbeing, and offers recommendation for increasing the inclusivity and representativeness of research samples. Methods Participant data from a cross-sectional survey of AYAs in Canada were evaluated. In-person hospital recruitment used a registry to identify patients attending ambulatory clinics. Internet recruitment included notices on hospital, team members’, and community partners’ social media channels, and email newsletters. Independent sample t -tests and Chi-squared tests were used to identify differences in participant sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics based on recruitment source. Results Of 436 participants, 217 (49.8%) were recruited in-person and 219 (50.2%) online. Online participants were more likely: to be white ( p < .001), women ( p < .001), and Canadian-born ( p < .001); to speak English at home ( p < .001), live alone ( p = .001) and live in rural settings ( p = .014); and to be farther from diagnosis ( p = .023), diagnosed with breast cancer ( p < .001), and cancer free ( p < .001) compared to the hospital sample. Online participants also reported higher anxiety, depression, and loneliness ( p < .001), and lower social support (p < .001), self-efficacy for coping with cancer ( p < .001), and life satisfaction ( p = .006). Conclusions Online recruitment yielded a more geographically diverse but less sociodemographically diverse sample of AYAs who were farther from diagnosis and had poorer psychosocial wellbeing than in-person recruitment at an urban hospital. Future research efforts should consider partnering with under-represented communities and using targeted and stratified online and in-person recruitment strategies to achieve an inclusive and representative sample of AYAs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:37:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4685636667f043f9a4483f18fbef0756 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-2076 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:37:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-4685636667f043f9a4483f18fbef07562023-10-26T14:35:11ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762023-10-01910.1177/20552076231205278A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional surveyJacqueline L Bender0Rukayyah Akinnibosun1Natasha Puri2Norma D’Agostino3Emily K Drake4Argerie Tsimicalis5A Fuchsia Howard6Sheila N Garland7Karine Chalifour8Abha A Gupta9 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, , Toronto, ON, Canada Dalla Lana School of Public Health, , Toronto, ON, Canada Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship, Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada Ingram School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, , Montreal, QC, Canada School of Nursing, , Vancouver, BC, Canada Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St John's, NL, Canada Young Adult Cancer Canada, St John's, NL, Canada Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaIntroduction Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs) are under-represented in research. The Internet and social media could increase the reach of recruitment efforts but may impact sample characteristics. This study evaluated the characteristics of AYAs recruited in-person at an urban hospital versus the Internet in terms of their sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and psychosocial wellbeing, and offers recommendation for increasing the inclusivity and representativeness of research samples. Methods Participant data from a cross-sectional survey of AYAs in Canada were evaluated. In-person hospital recruitment used a registry to identify patients attending ambulatory clinics. Internet recruitment included notices on hospital, team members’, and community partners’ social media channels, and email newsletters. Independent sample t -tests and Chi-squared tests were used to identify differences in participant sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics based on recruitment source. Results Of 436 participants, 217 (49.8%) were recruited in-person and 219 (50.2%) online. Online participants were more likely: to be white ( p < .001), women ( p < .001), and Canadian-born ( p < .001); to speak English at home ( p < .001), live alone ( p = .001) and live in rural settings ( p = .014); and to be farther from diagnosis ( p = .023), diagnosed with breast cancer ( p < .001), and cancer free ( p < .001) compared to the hospital sample. Online participants also reported higher anxiety, depression, and loneliness ( p < .001), and lower social support (p < .001), self-efficacy for coping with cancer ( p < .001), and life satisfaction ( p = .006). Conclusions Online recruitment yielded a more geographically diverse but less sociodemographically diverse sample of AYAs who were farther from diagnosis and had poorer psychosocial wellbeing than in-person recruitment at an urban hospital. Future research efforts should consider partnering with under-represented communities and using targeted and stratified online and in-person recruitment strategies to achieve an inclusive and representative sample of AYAs.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231205278 |
| spellingShingle | Jacqueline L Bender Rukayyah Akinnibosun Natasha Puri Norma D’Agostino Emily K Drake Argerie Tsimicalis A Fuchsia Howard Sheila N Garland Karine Chalifour Abha A Gupta A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey Digital Health |
| title | A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey |
| title_full | A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey |
| title_fullStr | A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey |
| title_short | A comparison of the sociodemographic, medical, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in-person and online: A Canadian cross-sectional survey |
| title_sort | comparison of the sociodemographic medical and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer recruited in person and online a canadian cross sectional survey |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231205278 |
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