Communicating Multiple Disease Risks: A Translation of Risk Prediction Science

Summary

Epidemiology seeks to improve public health by identifying risk factors for cancer and other diseases and conveying that information to relevant audiences (e.g., physicians, the public). The audience is presumed to understand and use that information to make appropriate decisions about lifestyle behaviors and medical treatments. Yet, even though a single risk factor can affect the risk of multiple health outcomes, this information is seldom communicated to people in a way that optimizes their understanding of the importance of engaging in a single healthy behavior. Providing individuals with the ability to understand how a single behavior (obtaining sufficient physical activity) could affect their risk of developing multiple diseases could foster a more coherent and meaningful picture of the behavior's importance in reducing health risks, increase motivation and intentions to engage in the behavior, and over time improve public health.

The proposed study translates epidemiological data about five diseases that cause significant morbidity and mortality (i.e., colon cancer, breast cancer (women), heart disease, diabetes, and stroke) into a visual display that conveys individualized risk estimates in a comprehensible, meaningful, and useful way to diverse lay audiences.

Conditions

• Healthy Volunteers

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Risk Assessment App

The App provides participants with personalized risk results for colon cancer, breast cancer (women), heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

BEHAVIORAL

Audio Recording - Sleep

-Participants imagine themselves improving sleep hygiene

OTHER

Surveys

Assesses information comprehension, intentions, perceived risk and severity worry, self- efficacy, response efficacy, affect, race, education, age, numeracy, graph literacy, and exercise and sleep behaviors.

BEHAVIORAL

Audio Recording - Exercise

Participants imagine themselves improving exercise

OTHER

Text message reminders

-Reminders to practice mental imagery

OTHER

Text Message Survey

-Assesses exercise behavior, intentions, actions plans, self-efficacy, affect, imagery vividness, and practice.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  collaborator NIH

• Washington University School of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Erika Waters, MPH, Ph.D. · Washington University School of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

30 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-06-27

Primary Completion

2019-01-03

Completion

2019-01-03

Countries

• United States

Study Locations