Understanding how nurses can effectively utilise social media for increasing public involvement, recruitment, and impact dissemination of Clinical Research Trials

Background:
The methodologies for clinical research trials are evolving to greater usage of social media platforms, providing opportunities to incorporate smart technologies in their delivery. Research Nurses should consider how they can utilise platforms for public engagement in trials.
Aim:
To explore the experiences of social media platforms and clinical research trials in a healthy population group, to gain insight into how clinical researchers can utilise these platforms professionally and ethically.
Methods:
Using a critical realist qualitative focus group design with template analysis, we recruited 16 healthy members of the public aged 18–75 years. The data expands upon their thoughts and behaviours regarding social media platforms with their understanding of clinical research.
Results:
Three main themes along with their specific subthemes (1) Design: Patient and Public Involvement (Subtheme: Understanding of clinical research, Diversity of social media users), (2) Implementation: Recruitment to active studies, (Subtheme: Motivators for volunteering, Trustworthy), (3) Dissemination: Impact and Awareness of Results, (Subtheme: Information overload, Motivations for users to share information).
Conclusions:
This study has highlighted the need to consider the way different population groups use social media platforms and the information they share when looking to engage them in clinical research trials.