Health Communication to Influence COVID-19 Vaccination Intent and Message Propagation (CONVINCE)

February 16, 2022 updated by: Nicholas Hing Yee Liang, Clinical Research Centre, Malaysia

Effective Public Health Communication to Influence COVID-19 Vaccination Intent and Message Propagation: A Randomized Controlled Experiment

This is a randomised controlled experiment in the form of a web based survey study which randomly exposes participants to different forms of public health messages, after which participants will be assessed on their intent to take up the COVID-19 vaccine, recommend the vaccine, and also willingness to propagate the exposed message.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

5784

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Malaysia
    • Selangor
      • Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, 40170
        • Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Malaysia

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the trial
  • Malaysian nationality.
  • Can understand either the English or Malay language.
  • Aged 18 years or above

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Descriptive Norm (70%)

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing that about 70% of Malaysians have expressed acceptance for the COVID-19 vaccine.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Descriptive Norm

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing that the COVID-19 vaccine has been widely tested including with the elderly and people with existing health conditions, while subsequently highlighting that the vaccine was already received by millions worldwide.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Healthcare worker (HCW) recommendation

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content highlights recommendation from Malaysian healthcare workers to get the vaccine, since majority of them has already received it, including the Malaysian Health Director General
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Negative attribute framing

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing the rate of side effects occurring with COVID-19 vaccination in a negative frame.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Positive attribute framing

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing the rate of side effects occurring with COVID-19 vaccination in a positive frame.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Risky choice framing (Safety)

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing a risky choice frame which compares the death rates occurring with COVID-19 vaccination versus contracting the virus itself.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Risky choice framing (Side effects)

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts:

  1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects)
  2. Message content describing a risky choice frame that compares the incidence rates of blood clots occurring with COVID-19 vaccination versus contracting COVID-19.
  3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Control message
Control message containing only rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Descriptive Norm
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + HCW recommendation
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Negative attribute framing
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Positive attribute framing
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Safety)
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.
Experimental: Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Side effects)
Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.
Behavioral: Health message exposure
Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in intent to accept the COVID-19 vaccine amongst the Malaysian adult population.
Time Frame: Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 4 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from '"Definitely no", "Not sure, but probably no", "Not sure, but probably yes"to Definitely yes".
Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to healthy adults.
Time Frame: Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".
Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly.
Time Frame: Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".
Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to people with existing health conditions.
Time Frame: Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".
Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Intent to share message on social media platform.
Time Frame: Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale.Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".
Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Moderators of vaccination intent.
Time Frame: Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure assessed using a series of questions answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".
Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Reliability of various information sources about COVID-19.
Time Frame: Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.
Outcome measure assessed using a questionnaire that list out various types of information sources and having participants to rate the reliability for each source using a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly not reliable", "Not reliable, "Not sure", "Reliable", and "Strongly reliable".
Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Clinical Research Centre, Malaysia

Collaborators

University of Malaya
London School of Economics and Political Science
Ministry of Health, Malaysia
UNICEF Malaysia
Institute for Health Behavioral Research, Malaysia

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Yee Liang Hing, MSc., Clinical Research Centre, Malaysia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 29, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 7, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

June 7, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 10, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 16, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

February 17, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 17, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 16, 2022

Last Verified

February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NMRR-21-26-58107

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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