A Web 2.0 and Epidemiology Mash-Up: Using Respondent-Driven Sampling in Combination with Social Network Site Recruitment to Reach Young Transwomen

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) peer referral has been proven to be an effective recruitment method for hard-to-reach populations; however, its application in diverse populations is limited. Recruitment occurred in two phases: RDS-only followed by development and implementation of an online social network strategy in combination with RDS peer referral (RDS + SNS). Compared to RDS-only, RDS + SNS reached a sample that was younger (χ 2 = 9.19, P = .03), more likely to identify with a non-binary gender identity (χ 2 = 10.4247, P = .03), with less housing instability (50.5 vs. 68.6 %, χ 2 = 9.0038, P = .002) and less sex work (19.7 vs. 31.4 %, χ 2 = 5.0798, P = .02). Additionally, we describe lessons learned as a result of implementing our online social network strategy. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating Internet-driven strategies to meet challenges in sample diversity and recruitment of young transwomen.