Social Media for Colorectal Cancer Screening
- Conditions
- Colorectal CancerCancer Screening
- Interventions
- Other: Tailored social media messagesOther: Social media message #3Other: Social media message #1Other: Social media message #2
- Registration Number
- NCT04296630
- Lead Sponsor
- Unity Health Toronto
- Brief Summary
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.
- Detailed Description
The investigators will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Facebook users (aged 50+) in Ontario. Randomization will be done at the level of the forward sortation area (FSA) - the first three characters of the postal code. All FSAs in Ontario will be randomized to one of six study arms - users assigned to each arm will receive one of the social media messages or no message (control). If users click on the message, a webpage with further information on screening will appear and participants will be asked to indicate intention to get screened for CRC. The primary outcome will be intention to screen and secondary outcomes will include other engagement metrics such as reach, cost-per-click, click-through rates, number of likes, number of impressions, and post comments.
This study will inform the feasibility of using social media for CRC screening and identify the most compelling CRC screening messages for the screen-eligible population.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 56000
- Facebook users in Ontario who are between 55-64 years of age
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Tailored Arm Tailored social media messages This arm will receive social media messages that will be tailored by one of the following variables: gender (men/women), age (younger/older), location (urban/rural), or social economic status (level of education). Testing to be conducted in a previous study will identify the variable that messages are tailored by. Message #3 Social media message #3 This arm will receive the third social media message that is preferred by our target population as identified from our previous focus group study. Message #1 Social media message #1 This arm will receive one of three social media messages that is preferred by our target population through focus groups that are being conducted as part of a previous study. Message #2 Social media message #2 This arm will receive the second social media message that is preferred by our target population as identified from our previous focus group study.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Screening intention From date of randomization to end of data collection (1 month) The proportion of individuals in each arm that click on the ad and confirm their intention to get screened for CRC
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Number of impressions At the end of the study period at 1 month Number of times that each ad was on screen
Post comments At the end of the study period at 1 month Number of comments on each ad
Cost-per-click From date of randomization to end of data collection (1 month) The average cost per link click calculated as the total amount spent on the ad campaign divided by total number of link clicks
Click-through-rate From date of randomization to the end of data collection (1 month) Percentage of times that individuals saw the ads and performed a click
Number of likes At the end of the study period at 1 month Total number of Facebook likes for each ad
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Unity Health Toronto
🇨🇦Toronto, Ontario, Canada