Social Media Indoor Tanning Study

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03834974
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: February 8, 2019
• Results First Posted: January 3, 2022
• Last Update Posted: January 3, 2022
• Sponsor: University of Connecticut
• Collaborator: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Sherry Pagoto, University of Connecticut

Study Description

Brief Summary:

The purpose of this research is to develop a social media delivered intervention to reduce unprotected sun exposure in young adults with a history of tanning.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Skin Cancer	Behavioral: Sun Safety Social Media Challenge; Behavioral: Digital Health Social Media Challenge	Not Applicable

Detailed Description:

We will use social marketing theory and a user-centered design approach to develop a social media intervention that engages young adults with a history of tanning to practice sun safety behaviors. We will incentivize young adults who have a history of tanning to create social media posts that encourage their peers to engage in sun safety. Focus groups of tanners guided the development of the intervention. Investigators will conduct a pilot feasibility trial where participants will be randomized to a condition in which they are incentivized to create sun safety social media messages to be posted on a sun safety social media account or a condition in which they are incentivized to create social media messages about how to use technology to support healthy lifestyle behaviors to be posted on a health technology social media account. The intervention will last 4 weeks. Feasibility outcomes include recruitment, retention, acceptability, participation, social media message engagement (likes, comments, shares), persuasive impact of messages, unprotected sun exposure, sun protection, and tanning behavior. This work will inform a fully powered randomized trial testing the efficacy of this intervention.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 66 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single (Participant)
• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Official Title: Using a Narrative-Based Approach to Reducing Indoor Tanning
• Actual Study Start Date: June 6, 2020
• Actual Primary Completion Date: October 28, 2020
• Actual Study Completion Date: October 28, 2020

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Sun Safety Social Media Challenge; During this 4-week intervention, participants will be incentivized to create sun safety social media messages that will be distributed on our sun safety Twitter and Facebook feeds.	Behavioral: Sun Safety Social Media Challenge; Participants will attend a webinar to learn how to create effective social media posts about sun safety and be oriented to the social media accounts on which the messages will be posted. They will be informed that posts should include a sun safety message (e.g., promoting sunscreen use and protective clothing/hats or discouraging risk behaviors like tanning and burning). They will be encouraged to be creative so that the message gets likes and shares. Participants will be encouraged to follow the feeds to see the engagement on their posts, to share the posts in their feed, and to see other participants' posts. Participants will receive a $10 Amazon gift card per post for a maximum of 6 posts ($60). The participant who created the post that receives the most likes, comments, and shares each week will win a $50 Amazon gift card.
Active Comparator: Digital Health Social Media Challenge; During this 4-week intervention, participants will be incentivized to create posts that promote the use of technology to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors (diet, exercise) on our digital health Twitter and Facebook feeds.	Behavioral: Digital Health Social Media Challenge; Participants will attend a webinar to learn how to create effective social media posts about using technology to get healthy and be oriented to the social media accounts on which the messages will be posted. They will be informed that posts should mention some way that technology (e.g., mobile apps, wearables) can be used to promote a healthy habit (e.g., diet, exercise). They will be encouraged to be creative so that the message gets likes and shares. Participants will be encouraged to follow the feeds to see the engagement on their posts, to share the posts in their feed, and to see other participants' posts. Participants will receive a $10 Amazon gift card per post for a maximum of 6 posts ($60). The participant who created the post that receives the most likes, comments, and shares each week will win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Recruitment [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   The number of completed respondents to recruitment ads, number of respondents eligible at initial screening, and number of respondents who completed baseline.
2. Retention [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   The % of participants in each condition who complete the follow-up assessment.
3. Acceptability [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   Number of participants who selected agree or strongly agree on 5-point Likert scale rating of how likely participants would be to recommend the intervention to a friend, and how likely they would be to participate again.
4. Participation [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   The number of posts created by participants
5. Post Engagement [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
   The median number of likes, shares and retweets, and unique commenters each participant post received.
6. Desirability of Tanning [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   Scale measuring participants' belief that a tan is attractive. Scale ranges from 0-12 with higher scores indicating higher levels of belief that a tan is attractive.
7. Desirability of Tanning [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   Scale measuring participants' belief that a tan is attractive. Scale ranges from 0-12 with higher scores indicating higher levels of belief that a tan is attractive.
8. Desirability of Tanning Alternatives [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   Average score on items relating to tanning alternative desirability. Scale ranges from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes towards tanning alternatives.
9. Desirability of Tanning Alternatives [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   Average score on items relating to tanning alternative desirability. Scale ranges from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes towards tanning alternatives.
10. Persuasive Impact of Participant Messages [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
    The mean of participants ratings for how persuasive they found each post (other than those they created) on a scale of 0-100, with higher scores indicating more persuasive.
11. Contamination [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
    The number of participants who report they saw the opposite conditions Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. Outdoor Tanning Intentions [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   Three items assessed intentions to tan even once, intentions to tan regularly in the next year, and intentions to quit on a 7-point scale (0=definitely will not, 6=definitely will).
2. Outdoor Tanning Intentions [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   Three items assessed intentions to tan even once, intentions to tan regularly in the next year, and intentions to quit on a 7-point scale (0=definitely will not, 6=definitely will).
3. Sun Exposure [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   How many hours the participant spent outside per week between the hours of 10am and 4pm.
4. Sun Exposure [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   How many hours the participant spent outside per week between 10am and 4pm
5. Outdoor Tanning [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   How many times in the last 4 weeks the participant went outside for the purpose of tanning in the sun.
6. Outdoor Tanning [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   How many times in the last 4 weeks the participant went outside for the purpose of tanning in the sun.
7. Sun Protection [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   Number of participants who reported using sun protection (sunscreen, protective clothing) often or always in the past month
8. Sun Protection [ Time Frame: 4-week follow-up ]
   Number of participants who reported using sun protection (sunscreen, protective clothing) often or always in the past month
9. Indoor Tanning Behavior [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
   Number of indoor tanning visits in the previous month
10. Indoor Tanning Behavior [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
    Number of indoor tanning visits in the previous month
11. Sunburn [ Time Frame: baseline ]
    Number of participants with 1 or more sunburns in the past month
12. Sunburn [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
    Number of participants with 1 or more sunburns in the past month
13. Outdoor Tanning Duration [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
    Median reported average number of minutes tanned per episode in the past 4 weeks, among participants who tanned in the past 4 weeks.
14. Outdoor Tanning Duration [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
    Median reported average number of minutes tanned per episode in the past 4 weeks, among participants who tanned in the past 4 weeks.

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 30 Years (Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 18-30
• Tanned indoors or outdoors at least once in the past year
• Intends to tan indoors or outdoors this summer
• Daily user of any social media platform

Exclusion Criteria:

• No smartphone
• Does not use a social media platform daily
• Lives in a state with an average temperature <75 degrees in May
• Inability to provide consent due to mental illness or a cognitive impairment
• Non-English speaking
• Prisoner

Contacts and Locations

Locations

United States, Connecticut

University of Connecticut

Storrs, Connecticut, United States, 06269

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Connecticut

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Sherry L Pagoto, PhD; University of Connecticut

  Study Documents (Full-Text)

Documents provided by Sherry Pagoto, University of Connecticut:

Study Protocol  [PDF] July 21, 2020

Statistical Analysis Plan  [PDF] October 25, 2021

Informed Consent Form  [PDF] July 21, 2020

More Information

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

Pagoto SL, Waring ME, Groshon LC, Rosen AO, Schroeder MW, Goetz JM. Proof-of-Concept Feasibility Trial of a Dissonance-Based Sun Safety Intervention for Young Adult Tanners. Ann Behav Med. 2022 Aug 2;56(8):830-841. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaab116.

• Responsible Party: Sherry Pagoto, Professor, University of Connecticut
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03834974
• Other Study ID Numbers: H19-033; R21CA226133-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
• First Posted: February 8, 2019
• Results First Posted: January 3, 2022
• Last Update Posted: January 3, 2022
• Last Verified: December 2021

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Skin Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases