[MA 2023 24] Lowering risks for cancer morbidity and mortality by reaching low health literate individuals for cancer screening programs
eHealth Living & Learning Lab Amsterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, AMC
Proposed by: Dr. Marloes Derksen [m.e.derksen@amsterdamumc.nl ]
Introduction
People with low health literacy are at a higher risk of severe illness or mortality from cancer (Rademakers, 2014). At the same time, they are less likely to participate in cancer screening programs, even though participation can offer significant health benefits (Dassen et al., 2023; Woudstra, 2020). As a result, this group of people has a higher risk of severe illness or death because breast, colorectal, and/or cervical cancer are not detected at an early stage (Bos et al., 2006 in Aitken et al., 2021), leading to undesirable health disparities in the Netherlands.
Currently, individuals from these vulnerable groups are inadequately reached with general information about cancer screening programs, increasing the likelihood that they make uninformed decisions regarding participation. This can result in uninformed non-participation, adverse oncological outcomes, and, consequently, health disparities.
The use of social media in disseminating information about cancer screening programs is still limited. It is possible that employing social media, in a targeted manner, can be considered to reach and inform specific groups of people, (e.g. low literate people or people with a migration background), about cancer screening programs.
For this project we seek an enthusiastic, Dutch-speaking master student with an interest in contributing to reaching inclusive cancer screening programs through using eHealth.
Description of the SRP Project/Problem
This research focuses on utilizing social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, to enhance the dissemination of information and information provision to individuals with low health literacy regarding cancer screening programs. The problem being addressed is the underrepresentation of people with low health literacy in population-based screenings due to their insufficient exposure to information about these screenings, their lack of understanding of the information, and/or the information's failure to resonate with their experiences.
Challenges may include reaching diverse groups of people with low health literacy, adapting content to various cultural backgrounds, ensuring clarity and accessibility of messages, measuring the impact of the interventions, and addressing potential skepticism or misinformation regarding population-based screenings.
The use of social media may be considered to overcome these challenges, but there is currently insufficient evidence regarding whether this approach can work and how it should be implemented. Hence, this research is scientifically and practically relevant.
Research questions
Main Question: (How) can social media be effectively used to inform and reach individuals with low health literacy about cancer screening programs?
Sub-questions:
• What are the specific online information needs and communication preferences of individuals with low health literacy regarding cancer screening programs?
• Which social media platforms are the most popular and accessible to individuals with low health literacy, and can they be specified by sub-target groups?
• What types of content (text, photo’s, infographics, (animation) videos, etc.) are the most effective in conveying information about cancer screening programs on social media?
• How can (payed) social media campaigns be designed to increase the engagement and participation of individuals with low health literacy in cancer screening programs?
• What are the key obstacles and challenges in using social media to reach individuals with low health literacy, and how can these be overcome?
• How can the effectiveness of social media campaigns for informing and reaching individuals with low health literacy about cancer screenings be measured and evaluated?
Further research questions will be determined later, based on the student’s input.
Expected results
- Insights into the feasibility and potential value of using social media to reach specific target groups.
- Insights into the most effective methods for disseminating content via social media.
- Developing social media campaign content (e.g. interactive infographics, video’s)
Proposed research methods include reviewing the literature, collecting data through qualitative interviews and/ or focus groups and combining your medical informatics knowledge and skills to develop social media content in co-creation with the target group.
Time period
7 months, start date November 1st, 2023
Contact
Dr. Marloes Derksen, eHealth Living & Learning Lab, Department of Medical Informatics, AMC
m.e.derksen@amsterdamumc.nl
Karin Honig, Projectleider RIVM- Centrum voor Bevolkingsonderzoek
Karin.honig@rivm.nl
References
Aitken, C. A., Kaljouw, S., Siebers, A. G., Bron, M., Morssink, A., van Kemenade, F. J., & de Kok, I. M. (2021). Investigating the decrease in participation in the Dutch cervical cancer screening programme: The role
of personal and organisational characteristics. Preventive Medicine Reports
Dassen, R., Pelders, S., De Munck, L., Jager, A., Hooning, M., Van Dam, J., & Heemskerk-Gerritsen, B. (2023). The effect of attendance in the Dutch breast cancer screening program on breast tumor characteristics among migrant women. The Breast, 69, 290–298.
Rademakers, J. (2014). Kennissynthese: gezondheidsvaardigheden: niet voor iedereen vanzelfsprekend. NIVEL.
Woudstra, A. J. (2020). Informed decision making in colorectal cancer screening: Equal opportunities for disadvantaged groups [Thesis]. Universiteit van Amsterdam.