Researcher Jody Salton explains how Be Part of Research helped in recruiting for her study into food choices across the menstrual cycle.
The study
Jody Salton is a PhD researcher based at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Bristol (BRC). Her study explored the dietary choices made by people who experience heavy menstrual bleeding.
It investigated whether people change the amount of iron in their diet across different stages of the menstrual cycle. In particular, it looked at whether these choices are driven by an individual’s iron status.
To collect data, participants were asked to:
- Complete at-home finger-prick blood test kits to measure ferritin and serum iron (iron status) and C-reactive protein (CRP) markers for inflammation.
- Take part in online surveys on their food choices at specific intervals across their menstrual cycle.
The recruitment challenge
Recruiting for studies focused on heavy menstrual bleeding can be difficult. Jody’s trial featured additional criteria that narrowed the participant pool further. To qualify, participants had to meet specific lifestyle and health parameters. This included being meat eaters and having no excluding medical diagnoses.
Having already exhausted immediate local networks during an earlier phase of the research, Jody was faced with tight deadlines and needed a new way to reach eligible participants.
"I was kind of going into recruitment with minimal ideas on how I was going to reach the sample that I was setting out to reach. I was also on a time limit. I really needed a running start at recruitment."
- Jody Salton, PhD researcher, Exploring food choice across the menstrual cycle
The impact: 79% of participants recruited through Be Part of Research
After seeing an email about Be Part of Research, Jody decided to explore using the service to support her recruitment.
Once live, the response from potential volunteers was immediate. Jody received expressions of interest within minutes of sending out mailouts.
This speed of responses allowed her to recruit in controlled waves. For each wave, she had a recruitment target, which was usually met within 48 hours. She first reached her initial overall study target of 65 participants and later expanded to 105 as funding permitted.
- Substantial contribution to overall recruitment - 83 of the 105 study participants (79%) came through Be Part of Research
- Email outreach to enrolments - 3.9% conversion rate: despite having specific criteria, there was a high uptake in volunteers contacted through Be Part of Research taking part in the study
Reaching a wider, more diverse audience
By looking beyond local channels, Be Part of Research enabled Jody to connect with people from across the UK. As part of this, she was able to recruit first-time research participants who might not have otherwise heard about the study.
She said: "A lot of people were saying that it was the first study they'd ever done. That's really nice because quite a lot of the time you'll find that you're kind of recycling the same participants every single time. It was nice to get to speak to a broader range of people."
Using the service also saved time. This allowed Jody to focus on participant engagement and study delivery, rather than advertising.
Recommending Be Part of Research to others
Reflecting on her experience, Jody strongly encourages other researchers to consider Be Part of Research for their recruitment needs.
She said: "When I found out about Be Part of Research, I thought this could be perfect and reached out with some questions. It ended up being even better than expected.
"I’d definitely recommend it to other researchers who are looking to recruit for their studies.”
Find out more about which studies can use Be Part of Research and complete our study registration form to get started.
