Developing and Testing a Mobile Health Intervention to Promote Sun Protection Behaviors and Skin Examination Among Hispanics
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Summary
Hypothesis: More than 80% of the participants (n=40) will complete the intervention at three month (intervention completion) and the six month follow-up (retention rate as feasibility). More than 70% of the participants will report high overall study satisfaction (acceptability) with the intervention and study. This pre-pilot will inform intervention and procedural refinements for the pilot. Hypothesis: Participants who receive the intervention (n=57) will report more skin cancer-related preventive behaviors (e.g., mean of summed score of sun protection behaviors such as use of sunscreen, etc.) at three month and six month follow-up compared to those in the control condition (n=57, who will receive general information about physical activity and nutrition).
Description
Aim 1: The investigator will conduct individual interviews among key stakeholders such as health care providers and community leaders to plan a mobile skin cancer intervention among Hispanics. Data will be collected from individual interviews (n=10-12) among key stakeholders and triangulated with data from a funded pilot grant (focus groups and surveys with Hispanic community members) to gather information regarding Hispanics perceptions and behaviors related to skin cancer and suggestions for a WhatsApp intervention. Aim 2: Employing a user-centered approach to develop a WhatsApp interventio…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–100 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Self-report as Hispanics * 18 years or older * No personal history of skin cancer * Report more than one skin cancer risk factor * Do not engage in sufficient sun protection behaviors * Have not conducted a SSE in the past three months * Own a smartphone and will be willing to use WhatsApp Exclusion Criteria: * Currently being treated for melanoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer
Interventions
- BehavioralHispanics Skin Cancer intervention
With the insights from the community, the investigators will then develop the mobile intervention targeting Hispanics at risk for skin cancer to promote sun protection and SSE and get feedback to optimize the intervention. After the random allocation participants will receive instructions on how to use WhatsApp and then the intervention. They will receive WhatsApp messages about skin cancer for three months with optimal frequencies determined by prior aims and complete a post-intervention survey which contains the same questions in the pre-survey. The pilot RCT will be conducted around the spring/summer of Year four of the R00 when UVR is generally the highest in the US. The participants will be contacted at six months after the baseline survey to complete another survey similar to the post-intervention survey.
- BehavioralControl group: physical activity and nutrition for Hispanics
Content will be developed from established websites such as CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. We selected these topics because they are also of concern among Hispanics and provide an unrelated attention control.
Location
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New JerseyNew Brunswick, New Jersey