Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04371419

COVID-19 Health Messaging to Underserved Communities

Recent data have shown that covid19 is disproportionately infecting and killing African Americans and Latinx people in the United States. The aim of the study is to determine which messages are most effective at increasing knowledge and changing behaviors that can protect individuals and their communities from the virus. To accomplish this aim, we plan to recruit approximately 20,000 Hispanic and African-American individuals and randomly assign them to videos that vary either the sender or the framing of the message, while providing the relevant public health information.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Coronavirus Coronaviridae Infections Coronavirus Infections Infections Nidovirales Infections RNA Virus Infections Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

JPAL North America

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, United States

About this study

The following procedures will be followed. The research subjects will participate online.

  • Doctors from MGH who express interest in participating will record messages according to our scripts (US Doctors Script African American, US Doctors Script Latinx). They will be instructed to film several different versions each.
  • We will recruit a sample of Latinx and African American study participants from across the country through Lucid, an online survey firm that has access to a large subject pool.
  • Participants will first read a consent script and give us their informed consent (US Doctors Messaging Consent)
  • Participants will then navigate through the following steps
  • Brief demographics survey questions (US Doctors Messaging Survey)
  • Videos 1 and 2: Introduction, Acknowledgement, Social Distancing (US Doctors Script African American, US Doctors Script Latinx). Individuals in the control group will not see videos.
  • Beliefs survey questions (US Doctors Messaging Survey)
  • Video 3: Masks (US Doctors Script African American, US Doctors Script Latinx). Again, individuals in the control group will not see a video here.
  • Main outcomes survey (US Doctors Messaging Survey)
  • Control group is shown a version of all 3 videos at end (US Doctors Script African American, US Doctors Script Latinx).
  • The video messages each participant in one of the treatment groups sees will be randomized on the following dimensions. The different versions are clearly demarcated in the US Doctors Scripts document.
  • Racial or ethnic identity of the doctor delivering the messages: concordant vs. discordant identity to the subject.
  • Whether the message includes an acknowledgment of "elephant in the room" issues for each target group: trust in the medical system or fear of deportation.
  • Whether the social distancing component of the message is delivered by Dr. Birx of the CDC or recorded by the MGH physicians.
  • Whether individuals are given information about how representative individuals perceive mask wearers of color. This information comes from results of our nationally representative pilot survey.
  • Some individuals in a control group will only see messages after all surveying has been completed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Hispanic and African-American adult individuals, men and women - oversample of those with less completed education Exclusion Criteria: children, those who do not identify as above

Treatment and study plan

Messaging

Behavioral

o The video messages each participant in one of the treatment groups sees will be randomized on the following dimensions. The different versions are clearly demarcated in the US Doctors Scripts document.

  • Racial or ethnic identity of the doctor delivering the messages: concordant vs. discordant identity to the subject.
  • Whether the message includes an acknowledgment of "elephant in the room" issues for each target group: trust in the medical system or fear of deportation.
  • Whether the social distancing component of the message is delivered by Dr. Birx of the CDC or recorded by the MGH physicians.
  • Whether individuals are given information about how representative individuals perceive mask wearers of color. This information comes from results of our nationally representative pilot survey.
  • Some individuals in a control group will see messages later.

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence Rate for Knowledge Gaps: Control vs. Any Intervention

    Time frame: The outcome was measured immediately following the intervention in the 15-minute baseline survey.

    Incidence rate for knowledge gaps is the count of knowledge gaps divided by the maximum possible count: 7

  2. Incidence Rate for Information-seeking Behavior: Control vs. Any Intervention

    Time frame: The outcome was measured immediately following the intervention in the 15-minute baseline survey.

    Incidence rate for Information-seeking behavior is the count of links demanded divided by the maximum possible count: 10

  3. Incidence Rate for Knowledge Gaps by Intervention

    Time frame: The outcome was measured immediately following the intervention in the 15-minute baseline survey.

    Incidence rate for knowledge gaps is the count of knowledge gaps divided by the maximum possible count: 7

  4. Incidence Rate for Information-seeking Behavior by Intervention

    Time frame: The outcome was measured immediately following the intervention in the 15-minute baseline survey.

    Incidence rate for Information-seeking behavior is the count of links demanded divided by the maximum possible count: 10

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

Other

Collaborators

  • Harvard University
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Stanford University
  • Yale University

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
May 1, 2020
Registry last updated
Jul 27, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.