Online and Offline Methods of Recruitment for Hard to Reach Populations [Best Oral Presentation- Peer Reviewed]

This study is investigating the use of a digital legacy with people who are affected by Motor Neuron Disease (MND), a progressive and terminal neurological disease. Dignity therapy is a proven palliative care intervention which encourages people, at the end of their life, to reflect and record their past experiences and memories by creating a legacy document (Chochinov et al., 2005). An alternative format, the ‘digital legacy’, is a purposefully recorded selection of videos regarding a person’s life, memories and achievements. This means people with MND create a series of videos specifically for a child in their family which are later copied to a DVD/digital source. The process allows a period of reflection for the person with MND to document their life, whilst also creating a tangible resource for a young carer and bereaved young people. Challenges with recruitment for this hard to reach population have been persistent throughout the project. This has required the adoption of alternative methods of recruitment in order to raise awareness of the study with a unique population of people affected by MND. This presentation will outline, reflect and evaluate the various methods of recruitment that have been used throughout the project.