Evaluating the Impact of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal on Cancer Prevention Behaviours in Underserved Populations

Evaluating the Impact of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal on Knowledge, Behavioural Intentions and Health Behaviours Related to Cancer Risk in Underserved Populations.

The goal of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal is to be a trustworthy source for health information. The Portal team can see (through measuring analytics of website use) that thousands of people are using the Portal and the knowledge-sharing strategies in place (email alerts, Twitter and Facebook), with many more users added each month. Previous studies have measured the quality and trustworthiness of health information available online; others have studied the numbers and populations who use different types of information and how easy it is to use and understand. This study builds on that knowledge to find out: if easy-to-understand evidence-based messages reach members of the public, do these messages change what people know and think to do to stay healthy (in this case, what they know and think to do to lower their risk of cancer)?

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Tailored knowledge translation

Detailed Description

Half of cancers are preventable through lifestyle modification such as smoking cessation, healthy eating, increasing physical activity and reducing alcohol intake; however, few Canadians engage in behaviours that are in line with cancer prevention guidelines. This may be in part due to lack of access to evidence-based information and the mixed messages on effective cancer prevention strategies that are propagated in the popular media.

The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal (the Portal) is a knowledge translation (KT) tool launched in 2014 to increase public access to trustworthy health information. Citizen-friendly content (blog posts, evidence summaries, web resource ratings) provide easy-to-read 'bottom line' messages appropriate for all audiences. Investigators would now like to know if and how KT strategies used to disseminate citizen-targeted information on cancer prevention impact knowledge, behavioural intentions and health behaviours of Canadian adults.

This study will use a sequential mixed-methods design consisting of a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a qualitative process study to explore RCT findings in depth. This formative approach will allow for a deeper analysis of the outcomes of interest (knowledge, intentions and behaviours), and the KT process. Following baseline data collection, eligible participants will be randomized to a 12-week intervention or control group.

During the intervention, participants will have access to the Portal, be invited to follow a Twitter and Facebook feed, and receive tailored weekly email alerts including blog posts and evidence summaries on cancer prevention. Control group participants will have access the Portal in a 'self-serve' fashion, but will not receive KT strategies.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 549
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8P0A1
      • McMaster University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous cancer diagnosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Tailored knowledge translation; During the 12-week intervention, intervention group participants will have access to the Portal and will receive targeted weekly email alerts including blog posts and evidence summaries relevant to cancer prevention and be invited to follow a Twitter and Facebook feed; a unique hashtag will be created to identify and collate relevant cancer prevention information.	Behavioral: Tailored knowledge translation; Tailored knowledge translation strategies specific to evidence-based cancer prevention recommendations
NO_INTERVENTION: Control; Participants in the control group will have access to the Portal in a 'self-serve' fashion. These participants will be able to browse the Portal, subscribe to email alerts, follow social media, etc. but will not receive the tailored intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Website engagement	Number of clicks	12 weeks
Email engagement	Number of clicks	12 weeks
Social media engagement	Number of clicks	12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge questionnaire	Participants knowledge of cancer prevention recommendations and guidelines	12 weeks, 3-months post-intervention
Beliefs questionnaire	Participants beliefs about the importance of lifestyle in prevention cancer	12 weeks, 3-months post-intervention
Intentions questionnaire	Participants intentions to engage in lifestyle behaviours in line with cancer prevention guidelines	12 weeks, 3-months post-intervention
Godin leisure time exercise questionnaire	Physical activity	12 weeks, 3 months post-intervention
Dietary Screener Questionnaire	Dietary intake	12 weeks, 3 months post-intervention
Tobacco Questions for Surveys, World Health Organization	Current smoking behaviour	12 weeks, 3 months post-intervention
Seven-day recall alcohol	Alcohol intake	12 weeks, 3 months post-intervention
Participant satisfaction	Collected using qualitative interviews	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: McMaster University
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Neil-Sztramko SE, Belita E, Levinson AJ, Boyko J, Dobbins M. Evaluation of an online knowledge translation intervention to promote cancer risk reduction behaviours: findings from a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer. 2019 Nov 21;19(1):1138. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6361-2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): October 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 7, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 13, 2017
• First Posted (ACTUAL): June 14, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 21, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 19, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Smoking; Physical activity; Diet; Alcohol; Knowledge translation; Cancer prevention
• Other Study ID Numbers: 316590

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No