The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown had a substantial impact on normal research operations. Researchers needed to adapt their methods to engage at-home participants. One method is crowdsourcing, in which researchers use social media to recruit participants, gather data, and collect samples. We utilized this method to develop a diagnostic test for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS). Participants were recruited via posts on popular social-media platforms, and enrolled via a website. Participants received and returned a mail kit containing bladder symptom surveys and a urine sample cup containing room-temperature preservative. Using this method, we collected 1254 IC/BPS and control samples in 3 months from all 50 United States. Our data demonstrate that crowdsourcing is a viable alternative to traditional research, with the ability to reach a broad patient population rapidly. Crowdsourcing is a powerful tool for at-home participation in research, particularly during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
【초록키워드】 lockdown, social media, COVID-19 pandemic, diagnostic test, diagnostic, media, Symptom, Research, Urine, United States, Participants, website, participant, powerful tool, patient population, bladder, researcher, control sample, Interstitial Cystitis, enrolled, collected, develop, caused, recruited, subsequent, returned, engage, recruit, 【제목키워드】 pandemic, media, Urine, National,