The impact of age-relevant and generic infographics on knowledge, attitudes and intention to attend cervical screening: A randomized controlled trial

TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of age-relevant and generic infographics on knowledge, attitudes and intention to attend cervical screening

T2 - A randomized controlled trial

AU - Waite, Frances

AU - Marlow, Laura A.V.

AU - Nemec, Martin

AU - Waller, Jo

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Women's Institute for their support with piloting the survey. We also thank the women who took part in the Claremont co-production groups and the women took part in the survey. This work was supported by a Cancer Research UK career development fellowship awarded to JW (grant reference: C7492/A17219). Funding Information: We thank the Women's Institute for their support with piloting the survey. We also thank the women who took part in the Claremont co‐production groups and the women took part in the survey. This work was supported by a Cancer Research UK career development fellowship awarded to JW (grant reference: C7492/A17219). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Health Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - Objectives: Cervical screening uptake in England is falling. Infographics could strengthen intention to attend, increase positive attitudes and improve knowledge. Age targeting could improve these outcomes further. We tested the impact of generic and age-targeted infographics. Design: A randomized controlled trial using an age-stratified, parallel-group design. Methods: Women aged 25–64 (n = 2095) were recruited through an online panel and randomized to see one of the three infographics. We tested: (i) impact of a generic cervical screening infographic compared to a control infographic on an unrelated topic with all screening age women and (ii) impact of an age-targeted infographic compared to a generic cervical screening infographic with older women (50–64 years). Intentions, knowledge and attitudes were measured. Results: Women aged 25–64 years who viewed the generic infographic had significantly higher intentions [F(1, 1513) = 6.14, p =.013, (Formula presented.) =.004], more accurate beliefs about the timeline of cervical cancer development (OR: 5.18, 95% CI: 3.86–6.95), more accurate social norms (OR: 3.03, 95% CI: 2.38–3.87) and more positive beliefs about screening benefits (OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.52–3.28) than those viewing the control infographic. In the older age group, there was no significant difference in intention between those viewing the generic versus age-targeted versions [F(1, 607) =.03, p =.853, (Formula presented.) <.001], but the age-targeted version was more engaging [F(1, 608) = 9.41, p =.002, (Formula presented.) =.015]. Conclusions: A cervical screening infographic can result in more positive attitudes and better knowledge and may have a small impact on intentions. Although age targeting did not affect intention, it had a positive impact on engagement and may therefore be useful in encouraging women to read and process materials.

AB - Objectives: Cervical screening uptake in England is falling. Infographics could strengthen intention to attend, increase positive attitudes and improve knowledge. Age targeting could improve these outcomes further. We tested the impact of generic and age-targeted infographics. Design: A randomized controlled trial using an age-stratified, parallel-group design. Methods: Women aged 25–64 (n = 2095) were recruited through an online panel and randomized to see one of the three infographics. We tested: (i) impact of a generic cervical screening infographic compared to a control infographic on an unrelated topic with all screening age women and (ii) impact of an age-targeted infographic compared to a generic cervical screening infographic with older women (50–64 years). Intentions, knowledge and attitudes were measured. Results: Women aged 25–64 years who viewed the generic infographic had significantly higher intentions [F(1, 1513) = 6.14, p =.013, (Formula presented.) =.004], more accurate beliefs about the timeline of cervical cancer development (OR: 5.18, 95% CI: 3.86–6.95), more accurate social norms (OR: 3.03, 95% CI: 2.38–3.87) and more positive beliefs about screening benefits (OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.52–3.28) than those viewing the control infographic. In the older age group, there was no significant difference in intention between those viewing the generic versus age-targeted versions [F(1, 607) =.03, p =.853, (Formula presented.) <.001], but the age-targeted version was more engaging [F(1, 608) = 9.41, p =.002, (Formula presented.) =.015]. Conclusions: A cervical screening infographic can result in more positive attitudes and better knowledge and may have a small impact on intentions. Although age targeting did not affect intention, it had a positive impact on engagement and may therefore be useful in encouraging women to read and process materials.

KW - cervical cancer

KW - infographic

KW - intervention

KW - RCT

KW - screening intention

KW - targeting

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173965931&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/bjhp.12695

DO - 10.1111/bjhp.12695

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85173965931

SN - 1359-107X

VL - 29

SP - 204

EP - 220

JO - British Journal of Health Psychology

JF - British Journal of Health Psychology

IS - 1

ER -