Messaging Strategies for Health Behaviors

Overseen By Gail C D'Souza, DrPH

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Penn State University

Disqualifiers: Outside age range, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores how different video messages about nutrition can change people's interest and confidence in using herbs and spices to improve their diet. It compares videos focusing on taste versus health benefits (Taste vs. Health Messaging). Participants will watch both types of videos to determine which approach is more engaging and preferred. Good candidates for this study cook at home at least twice a week, live in the U.S., and speak English. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity to contribute to understanding how messaging can influence dietary habits.

Do I need to stop taking my current medications for this trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that these messaging strategies are safe?

Research shows that using messages to encourage behavior change is generally safe. Studies have found that text and instant messages can help improve health habits such as exercising more, sleeping better, and quitting smoking. No major reports of harm have emerged from these messaging methods, indicating they are well-accepted by users. As this trial involves only watching videos, the risk of negative effects is very low. Participants can feel confident about the trial's safety. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the "Messaging Strategies for Health Behaviors" trial because it's exploring how different types of messages can influence health behaviors. Unlike traditional methods that often focus solely on health benefits or taste, this approach examines the impact of first highlighting taste and then health, and vice versa. The unique aspect here is understanding the sequence of messaging and how it can potentially motivate people more effectively to adopt healthier habits. This could lead to new strategies for public health campaigns that are more engaging and successful in changing behaviors.

What evidence suggests that this trial's messaging strategies could be effective for improving consumer interest and knowledge in using herbs and spices?

This trial will compare the effects of taste-focused messaging with health-focused messaging on participants' perceptions and behaviors. Research has shown that messages focusing on taste can greatly influence how people view and enjoy food. One study found that when people saw messages highlighting taste, they expected the food to taste better than when the messages focused on health benefits. This suggests that emphasizing taste might increase interest and enjoyment in using herbs and spices. Another study found that taste-focused messages were more effective in changing how people responded to food than health-focused messages. Overall, these findings suggest that focusing on taste could strongly enhance the appeal and acceptance of healthier food choices. Participants in this trial will experience both messaging strategies to assess their impact. ^{2 6 7 8 9}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for individuals interested in improving their diet quality. Participants should be willing to watch nutrition education videos and provide feedback on them. There are no specific inclusion or exclusion criteria provided, so it's open to a broad audience.

Inclusion Criteria

I can cook at home at least twice a week.

Reside in the United States

I am between 18 and 75 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

Resides outside the United States

I am younger than 18 or older than 75.

I am not fluent in English.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

Consent and Randomization

Eligible participants complete an online consent form and are randomly assigned to one of two groups

Video Viewing and Evaluation

Participants view taste and health messaging videos and complete evaluation questionnaires

Follow-up

Participants provide feedback on the videos and complete a demographics questionnaire

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Taste vs. Health Messaging

Trial Overview

The study is testing the effectiveness of two types of messaging in nutrition education videos: one that emphasizes taste and another that focuses on health benefits. The goal is to see which type of messaging better improves interest, knowledge, confidence in using herbs and spices, as well as engagement and acceptability.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Taste video viewing participants followed by health video viewing participants (n=200) Active Control 1 Intervention

Participants in this arm will first watch the taste messaging focused videos, followed by the health messaging focused videos.

Group II: Health video viewing participants followed by taste video viewing participants (n=200) Active Control 1 Intervention

Participants in this arm will first watch the health messaging focused videos, followed by the taste messaging focused videos.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Penn State University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

380

Recruited

131,000+

Citations

1.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10048040/

Health- or Environmental-Focused Text Messages to ...

We examined the impact of a text-message intervention on the expected taste of both meat- and plant-protein foods.

2.

sciencedirect.com

sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329324001952

Implicit and explicit liking of a snack with health- versus ...

The aim of the study was to examine how exposure to a snack with a health versus taste message affects perceived healthiness, expected tastiness, as well as ...

3.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12301180/

A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis - PMC

This study aimed to systematically appraise and examine the effectiveness of instant messaging on health behavior change. 2. Methods. The ...

4.

nutritionj.biomedcentral.com

nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-021-00668-7

A quantitative test of the face validity of behavior-change ...

This study assessed the face validity of messages based on the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines by assessing participant receptivity to behavior- ...

5.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joss.70075

The Boomerang Effect of Taste‐Focused Message on ...

ABSTRACT. This study compared the main effect of taste- vs. health- focused messages on consumer responses and investigated whether.

6.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3082846/

Text Messaging as a Tool for Behavior Change in Disease ...

Extracted data included participant characteristics, intervention details, dose and duration of text messaging, follow-up times, outcome measures, and results.

7.

researchprotocols.org

researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e48271/

Designing Mobile Phone Text Messages Using the ...

This study aimed to apply the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework to develop text messages to influence food literacy in adults with T2D in urban Kenya.

8.

publichealth.jhu.edu

publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-global-digital-health-innovation/january-2024-social-media-for-health-behavior-change

January 2024: Social media for health behavior change

This month's Digital Health Research Roundup is focused on the use of social media in social and behavior change (SBC).

9.

jmir.org

jmir.org/2024/1/e58726/

Text Messaging Interventions to Support Health

This paper examines the use of text message (SMS) interventions for health-related behavioral support.