CALS Patient Activated Learning System (PALS)

Can the Digital Patient Activated Learning System Increase Racial Minority Engagement With Health Information? A Multi-Site Pilot Examination in New York State

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04212117

Enrollment

232

Registered

2019-12-26

Start date

2020-02-18

Completion date

2023-11-01

Last updated

2024-02-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Communication, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Trust

Brief summary

The overall goal in this line of inquiry is to test whether the Patient Activated Learning System (PALS) is effective in reducing disparities in access to reliable, easily understood health information, and whether this increased understanding has downstream consequences such as increases in trust in the medical system and self-management behaviors.

Detailed description

Participants will view, in randomized order, PALS or WebMD content on hypertension and on high cholesterol. This study will test knowledge uptake across topics as well as attitudes toward and trust in the information and information providers.

Interventions

OTHERThe Patient Activated Learning System (PALS)

Randomization into PALS arm.

OTHERWebMD

Randomization into WebMD arm.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Patient ≥ 18 years of age. * Self-reported hypertension diagnosis. * English speaking * Passing the cognition screener * Able to read in English * Patient at designated recruitment clinics

Exclusion criteria

* Non-English speakers * Not having self-identified as having hypertension * Inability to read in English * Being younger than 18 * Not passing the screener * Not being a patient on the participating clinics

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Knowledge	Day 1, Immediately after reading article	as measured by assessment questions on the nutrition information provided
Trust in eHealth	Day 1, Immediately after reading article	as measured by e-Health Impact Questionnaire by Kelly et al. on a 5-point likert scale where one is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree
E-health usability	Day 1, Immediately after reading article	as measured by e-Health Impact Questionnaire scale by Harris et al. on a 5-point likert scale where one is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree
Physician trust	Day 1, Immediately after reading article	as measured by assessment questions from Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale on a 5-point likert scale where one is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026