Online recruitment: Feasibility,cost,and representativeness in a study of postpartum women

Background: online recruitment is feasible,low-cost,and can provide high-quality epidemiological data. however,little is known about the feasibility of recruiting postpartum women online,or sample representativeness. objective: the current study investigates the feasibility of recruiting a population of postpartum women online for health research and examines sample representativeness. methods: two samples of postpartum women were compared: those recruited online as participants in a brief survey of new mothers (n=1083) and those recruited face-to-face as part of a nationally representative study (n=579). sociodemographic,general health,and mental health characteristics were compared between the two samples. results: obtaining a sample of postpartum women online for health research was highly efficient and low-cost. the online sample over-represented those who were younger (aged 25-29 years),were in a de facto relationship,had higher levels of education,spoke only english at home,and were first-time mothers. members of the online sample were significantly more likely to have poor self-rated health and poor mental health than the nationally representative sample. health differences remained after adjusting for sociodemographic differences. conclusions: potential exists for feasible and low-cost e-epidemiological research with postpartum populations; however,researchers should consider the potential influence of sample nonrepresentativeness.