Optimizing Weblinks Used in Digital Vaccination Invitations to Raise Trust and Booking Intention: Online Experiment 2
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 1,203
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Perceived Trustworthiness
研究概览
简要总结
This study investigates how the design of web links in digital vaccination invitation emails affects recipient trust and their willingness to book an appointment. Researchers compare three different weblink formats: a control third-party link previously used by the NHS ("accurx"), and two experimental weblinks in which the original link is hidden: a shortened "bit.ly" link, and a text-embedded hyperlink.
The study primarily tests whether the two experimental weblinks will be perceived as more trustworthy and increase booking intention compared to the control weblink. Furthermore, the study examines whether the experimental weblinks is perceived to be more fluent (easier to read) and improves participants' ability to correctly identify the organisation (e.g., the NHS or a US pharmacy) that sent the hypothetical email.
To test these effects, investigators will gather data from 600 participants from the United Kingdom and 600 from the United States. They will be randomly assigned to view one of the three hypothetical email versions. UK participants will see emails appearing to be from the NHS, while US participants will see emails from a fictitious pharmacy (Pharma-US). This research aims to provide evidence on how to design more effective and trustworthy digital health communications.
详细描述
This randomised experimental study investigates how weblink design influences the perceived trustworthiness of digital health communications. As digital invitations (e.g., emails and SMS) have become standard for public health initiatives such as vaccination programs, the use of third-party or disfluent (hard-to-read) web links may inadvertently undermine trust.
Study Protocol and Intervention
Participants will be randomly allocated to one of three experimental conditions. In all conditions, participants will read a hypothetical email invitation for a COVID-19 booster vaccine. The content of the emails remains identical except for the format of the booking weblink included in the email:
Control Condition: Features the "accurx" web link (accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk/r/aafwaczmd5) based on a third-party format used in official invitations from the UK's NHS.
Experimental Condition 1: (Concealed in shortened URL) features a shortened version of the link using a bit.ly domain.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
盲法说明
This is a double-blind study in which participants were unaware of the specific experimental condition to which they had been assigned. Participants were randomly allocated to view only one of three possible versions of a hypothetical vaccination invitation email-featuring either a control link, a shortened URL, or a text-embedded hyperlink-and were not informed of the existence or nature of the alternative stimuli. This masking ensures that their evaluations of trustworthiness, fluency, and booking intentions were not influenced by a direct comparison between the different link designs. As the study was conducted as an online survey via a fully automated platform, there was no direct interaction between the investigators and the participants during the intervention. As the study was conducted as an online survey via a fully automated platform, there is no direct interaction between the investigators and the participants during the intervention.
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Residency: Must be a resident of either the United Kingdom or the United States
排除标准
- •Attention Failure: Participants who failed the designated attention check included within the survey will be excluded from the analysis.
- •Speeding: Participants who completed the study "too fast"- indicating a lack of meaningful engagement with the experimental stimuli - were filtered out
研究组 & 干预措施
Control
Participants were assigned to view a hypothetical vaccination invitation email containing the control weblink (UK participants: accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk/r/aafwaczmd5; US participants: accurx.thirdparty.pharmaus.com/r/aafwaczmd5)
Shortened URL
Participants assigned to this arm are shown a hypothetical COVID-19 booster vaccination invitation email featuring a shortened URL using a bit.ly domain. To ensure local relevance, the email stimulus is tailored to the participant's geographic location: UK participants view an email appearing to be from the NHS, while US participants view an invitation appearing to be from a fictitious pharmacy, Pharma-US.
干预措施: Improved trust and engagement (Behavioral)
Text-embedded link
Participants assigned to this arm are shown a hypothetical COVID-19 booster vaccination invitation email where the booking link was presented as a descriptive hyperlink (e.g., "Book your vaccine here") rather than a visible URL. Following the study's geographic customisation, UK participants viewed an email stimulus that appeared to be from the NHS, while US participants viewed an invitation that appeared to be from Pharma-US.
干预措施: Improved trust and engagement (Behavioral)
结局指标
主要结局
Perceived Trustworthiness
时间窗: Immediately after the intervention
Participants rated the perceived trustworthiness of the vaccination invitation email on a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 represents "Very suspicious", and 5 represents "Very trustworthy".
Booking Intention
时间窗: Immediately after the intervention
Participants rated their likelihood of booking a vaccine appointment based on the email invitation using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Very unlikely") to 5 ("Very likely").
次要结局
- Ease of reading(Immediately after the intervention)
- Host Identification(Immediately after the intervention)
研究者
Marie Juanchich
Professor of Psychology
University of Essex