Baseline cognition and demographic, lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors in US POINTER
Authors
Kathryn V. Papp, Department of Neurology, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Department of Neurology, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, USA.
Marjorie Howard, Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Amber Thro, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Tiia Ngandu, Center for Alzheimer Research, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Brad Caudle, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Bonnie C. Sachs, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Michelle Chan, Department of Neurology, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, USA.
Kristin R. Krueger, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Elizabeth R. Hartman, Advocate Health - MidwestFollow
Athene Lee, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Michele K. York, Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Marie T. Austin, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Kathryn E. Demos, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Thomas M. Holland, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Xiaoyan Leng, Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Rema Raman, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute, University of Southern California, San Diego, California, USA.
Heather M. Snyder, Medical and scientific relations, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Maria C. Carrillo, Medical and scientific relations, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Rachel A. Whitmer, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Mark A. Espeland, Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Laura D. Baker, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Recommended Citation
Papp KV, Farias ST, Howard M, et al. Baseline cognition and demographic, lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors in US POINTER. Alzheimers Dement. 2025;21(7):e70216. doi:10.1002/alz.70216
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe strategies to manage bots and frauds (B/F) during online recruitment of research subjects.
Background: Bots mimic human responses in surveys using sophisticated algorithms. Fraudulent responses occur when false or misleading information is provided to gain research incentives. This research team identified substantial issues with fraudulent responses and imposters. This issue has not been well reported in the literature.
Methods: Nurse managers recruited through social media completed an online survey in a national nurse-led research study. A gift card stipend was offered to participants for survey completion. An unexpected surge in survey responses prompted researchers to halt recruitment. Multiple B/F mitigation and data validation strategies were implemented to ensure data integrity and are discussed in this article.
Results: Of the 836 surveys, only 152 (18.2%) were complete and valid.
Conclusions: When using social media for online research, incorporating preemptive mitigation strategies to combat B/F responses is essential.
