MedTrace Logo

Effects of Prior Exposure to Conflicting Health Information on Responses to Subsequent Unrelated Health Messages

NCT04247529 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 6046

Last updated 2020-11-10

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Many population-level public health strategies-including media campaigns and other behavioral interventions, screening recommendations, and vaccination policies-rely on messaging to promote cancer prevention and control. These strategies do not take place in a vacuum; rather, they occur in the context of a broader public information environment, which is increasingly characterized by conflicting and often controversial health information. Although studies have documented that such information is prevalent, a critical question remains unanswered: does exposure to conflicting health information in people's routine interactions with the broader information environment threaten the success of message-based population-level public health strategies? And, if so, who is most susceptible to the effects of such exposure? This study will provide a rigorous empirical test of these critical answered questions, guided by two specific aims: First, to evaluate whether prior exposure to conflicting health information influences responses to subsequent unrelated and uncontested health messages, a phenomenon that has been described as "carryover effects" (Primary Aim); and second, to identify whether there are individual-level differences in how conflict affects responses to these unrelated and uncontested health messages (Secondary Aim).

Conditions

  • Communication Research

Interventions

OTHER

Exposure to conflicting health information

At 2 time points across a \~28-day period, participants will be exposed to news stories and social media posts about 6 health topics: mammography screening, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, Vitamin D supplementation, carbohydrate consumption, alcohol consumption, and breastfeeding. Participants in the conflict (experimental) group will have conflicting information added to these news and social media posts.

OTHER

No exposure to conflicting health information

At 2 time points across a \~28-day period, participants will be exposed to news stories and social media posts about 6 health topics: mammography screening, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, Vitamin D supplementation, carbohydrate consumption, alcohol consumption, and breastfeeding. Participants in the no conflict (comparator) group will have no conflicting information included in these news and social media posts.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-07-20
Primary Completion
2020-08-31
Completion
2020-08-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04247529 on ClinicalTrials.gov