Reaching Concerned Partners of Heavy Drinking Service Members and Veterans through Facebook

Abstract: Military populations are hard to reach for alcohol interventions. The authors used a Facebook ad campaign to successfully recruit military spouses who were concerned about their service member or veteran partner's drinking behaviors. In 90 days, the authors recruited 306 participants for a cost of $42.82 per participant. Ads featuring a monetary incentive were most popular, and 89% of participants learned about the study on their cell phones. In addition to enrolling those reporting concern over their partner's drinking, the authors were able to recruit a population in need, as less than half of participants with depression, anxiety, or hazardous alcohol use received services for themselves in the past year.