None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to improve knowledge of consumers about new and emerging CVD risk assessment methods, addressing different levels of health literacy; and to improve the uptake of evidence-based risk assessment methods by health professionals by providing them with communication tools that allow them to quickly and automatically apply the evidence to their patients. This project will use a novel approach to: 1) identify the best way to communicate the known benefits/harms and uncertainties of these tests, for patients with varying health literacy levels; and 2) develop novel patient decision aids on these issues to support revised national guidelines before they are implemented.
Interventions
Design: The study will be a randomised experiment. We will conduct a national survey recruited through Dynata to experimentally test different content options amongst consumers with varying health literacy. A 2 x 2 factorial design will test how to present risk assessment and management options (basic vs detailed) and uncertainty (implicit vs explicit) to enhance understanding.
Methods: A national sample will be recruited for an online survey through Qualtrics, with stratified education, gender
Design: The study will be a randomised experiment. We will conduct a national survey recruited through Dynata to experimentally test different content options amongst consumers with varying health literacy. A 2 x 2 factorial design will test how to present risk assessment and management options (basic vs detailed) and uncertainty (implicit vs explicit) to enhance understanding. Methods: A national sample will be recruited for an online survey through Qualtrics, with stratified education, gender and age groups (45-79 years). Participants will complete a 10-minute survey where they will: 1) respond to questions about demographics and health literacy; and 2) respond to various information: group 1 and 3 will receive basic description of CVD risk factors/management options, group 2 and 4 will receive detailed description of the triage method and intervention effects. We will also compare standard presentation of probabilities with a version that has explicit information about different types of uncertainty: aleatory (randomness of future events, represented implicitly via probabilities) for group 1 and 2; and epistemic (with explicit statements about uncertainty around numeric estimates and the quality of underlying evidence) for group 3 and 4. There will be two outcome scenarios within each of the four groups. Participants will be shown a hypothetical scenario of a person receiving an intermediate result for their heart disease risk, which will be reclassified as either low risk or high risk. Participants will receive a debriefing document at the end to explain the aims of the study and that the data is based on a hypothetical scenario which do not apply to their own situation. The survey is anonymous. The eight groups participants can be randomised to are summarised below: 1a. Information: Basic; Uncertainty: Implicit; Final risk: Low 1b. Information: Basic; Uncertainty: Implicit; Final risk: High 2a. Information: Detailed; Uncertainty: Implicit; Final risk: Low 2b. Information: Detailed; Uncertainty: Implicit; Final risk: High 3a. Information: Basic; Uncertainty: Explicit; Final risk: Low 3b. Information: Basic; Uncertainty: Explicit; Final risk: High 4a. Information: Detailed; Uncertainty: Explicit; Final risk: Low 4b. Information: Detailed; Uncertainty: Explicit; Final risk: High
Sponsors
The University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Primary purpose
Prevention
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
45 Years to 79 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Individuals will be eligible if they are aged 45-79; living in Australia, able to communicate and read English; never had a heart attack or stroke nor been diagnosed with a CVD.
Exclusion criteria
None
Outcome results
None listed