Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 7, 2023
Date Accepted: Sep 29, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A neuro-influence experiment to evaluate the persuasiveness of PrEP promotion messages among men who have sex with men: A randomized control trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended by the US CDC, but behavioral factors limit uptake, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). A better understanding of how humans cognitively process information may inform health messages to change PrEP behavior.
Objective:
Informed by the neuroscience of persuasion and influence, this paper describes the protocol of a neuro-influence experiment using near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate the persuasiveness of PrEP promotion messages among MSM in Baltimore, Maryland.
Methods:
We will conduct a randomized control trial using fNIRS to measure brain activation among 60 participants viewing PrEP promotion messages either developed via a crowdsourcing open contest implemented by the study team or developed with a traditional social marketing approach. We will evaluate the effectiveness of PrEP promotion messages by assessing brain activation in the regions associated with persuasion and changes in PrEP willingness, behavioral intention, initiation, and action between two groups.
Results:
Study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Mental Health: R34MH116725). Participant recruitment and data collection are currently taking place in the field and are expected to be completed by October 2023.
Conclusions:
In addition to providing insight regarding the effectiveness of PrEP promotion messages, this study will examine the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of neuroimaging techniques to evaluate PrEP promotion messages for high-risk MSM. The findings can also demonstrate the utility of fNIRS as a tool for pre-product testing of health campaigns and enable the public health community to deliver more effective messages to improve health outcomes. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04166851
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Copyright
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