Social Media Messages for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)

Overseen byNancy N. Baxter, MD, FRCSC, FACS, PhD

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Travel: May Be Covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: Academic

Waitlist Available

Sponsor: Unity Health Toronto

No Placebo Group

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

Using social media for health promotion is an innovative and emerging approach but remains relatively unexplored in cancer screening. Uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening remains low and standard methods of reaching out are expensive with limited impact. The objective of this study is to conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of social media messages for CRC screening on screening intention (primary outcome). The results of this trial will be of interest to Ontario Health and are likely to be taken up by other screening programs looking for innovative and novel ways to increase screening participation. The study results will be easily translatable identifying the most compelling CRC screening messages while the approach can easily be translated to other cancer disease sites with screening programs.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for Facebook users in Ontario who are over the age of 50. It's designed to see if certain social media messages can encourage people to get screened for colorectal cancer.

Inclusion Criteria

I am over 50 and use Facebook in Ontario.

Treatment Details

Interventions

Social Media Messages (Behavioural Intervention)

Trial OverviewThe study is testing different social media messages about colorectal cancer screening. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive one of several tailored messages, and researchers will track if these lead to increased screening intentions.

Participant Groups

6Treatment groups

Active Control

Group I: Arm #4Active Control1 Intervention

This arm will receive the fourth social media message that is preferred by our target population as identified from our previous focus group study.

Group II: Control ArmActive Control1 Intervention

This arm will not receive any intervention.

Group III: Message #3Active Control1 Intervention

This arm will receive the third social media message that is preferred by our target population as identified from our previous focus group study.

Group IV: Tailored ArmActive Control1 Intervention

This arm will receive social media messages that will be tailored by sex.

Group V: Message #1Active Control1 Intervention

This arm will receive one of five social media messages that is preferred by our target population through focus groups that are being conducted as part of a previous study.

Group VI: Message #2Active Control1 Intervention

This arm will receive the second social media message that is preferred by our target population as identified from our previous focus group study.