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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12625000341426p
Ethics application status
Submitted, not yet approved
Date submitted
8/04/2025
Date registered
23/04/2025
Date last updated
23/04/2025
Date data sharing statement initially provided
23/04/2025
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
The Impact of Social Media content on health decisions: Exploring the influence of varying content and information about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Scientific title
A randomised online trial evaluating the effect of social media posts about ADHD on medical decision making
Secondary ID [1] 314168 0
None
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
ADHD 337014 0
Self-diagnosis 337015 0
Misinformation on social media 337016 0
Condition category
Condition code
Mental Health 333466 333466 0 0
Studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour
Public Health 333467 333467 0 0
Health service research

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
The aim of this trial is to test and evaluate how different types of messaging (personal anecdotes and awareness campaigns) and different descriptions of symptoms (evidence-based vs misrepresentative) affect participants’ perceptions, emotions and intentions.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) a personal anecdote featuring evidence-based symptoms, (2) a personal anecdote featuring misrepresentative symptoms, (3) an awareness campaign featuring evidence-based symptoms (control group), or (4) an awareness campaign featuring misrepresentative symptoms. The study materials consist of TikTok posts designed to mimic real online content, each consisting of 5 slides which will take approximately 1-2 minutes to engage with. The misrepresentative symptoms include generalized or sensationalized descriptions of ADHD symptoms not supported by clinical evidence that are commonly found on social media such as relationship roadblocks, impulsive spending, picking skin, and chewing the inside of one’s cheeks. The evidence-based symptoms include difficulties maintaining attention, excessive fidgeting, frequently losing things, and difficulty waiting one’s turn. The personal anecdote will recount the experience of noticing ADHD symptoms and the benefit of reaching a diagnosis. The awareness campaign will feature a neutral tone with statements about the prevalence of ADHD and how to recognize the signs. The intervention groups will receive the content containing misrepresentative symptoms of ADHD, which are not recognized by medical professionals and may lead to misconceptions or overdiagnosis.

Participants will view the assigned content within an online survey hosted on Qualtrics, with Qualtrics analytics being used to monitor adherence to the intervention. After exposure to the stimulus, they will complete a series of outcome measures assessing intention to self-diagnose, intention to seek an official diagnosis, internalized stigma, emotional response and credibility and trust of the information. The total time for participation is estimated to be 10-15 minutes. The intervention materials have been developed based on existing ADHD-related content commonly found on social media platforms and standardized questionnaires.

Intervention code [1] 330768 0
Behaviour
Comparator / control treatment
The control group will be randomised to view the awareness campaign featuring evidence-based symptoms. Participants randomised to this control condition will complete the same outcome measures and are estimated to take a similar time to complete the study.
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 341040 0
Intention to self diagnose
Timepoint [1] 341040 0
Administered immediately after participants have read the information on the TikTok post they are randomised to (intervention or control materials).
Secondary outcome [1] 445930 0
Intention to seek an official diagnosis
Timepoint [1] 445930 0
Administered immediately after participants have read the information on the TikTok post they are randomised to (intervention or control materials).
Secondary outcome [2] 445931 0
Internalized stigma
Timepoint [2] 445931 0
Administered immediately after participants have read the information on the TikTok post they are randomised to (intervention or control materials).
Secondary outcome [3] 445932 0
Psychosocial outcomes
Timepoint [3] 445932 0
Administered immediately after participants have read the information on the TikTok post they are randomised to (intervention or control materials).
Secondary outcome [4] 445933 0
Credibility and trust. This will be assessed as a composite outcome.
Timepoint [4] 445933 0
Administered immediately after participants have read the information on the TikTok post they are randomised to (intervention or control materials).

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Adults aged 18-40 years, living in Australia, who have not been formally diagnosed with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and are not currently on treatment for these disorders.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
40 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
Diagnosed with ADHD or ASD, received treatment for ADHD or ASD

Study design
Purpose of the study
Educational / counselling / training
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Participants will be recruited through Dynata, a market research company, and will access the study via an online Qualtrics survey. Upon providing informed consent, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the four study conditions (personal anecdote with evidence-based symptoms, personal anecdote with misrepresentative symptoms, awareness campaign with evidence-based symptoms, or awareness campaign with misrepresentative symptoms) using Qualtrics' built-in randomization function. Neither the researchers nor Dynata will be aware of the condition to which participants are allocated.
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Randomisation will take place through computerised sequence generation using the Randomizer function included in Qualtrics. This function utilises the Mersenne Twister pseudorandom number generator.
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people administering the treatment/s

Intervention assignment
Parallel
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis
Baseline characteristics for the four groups will be quantified and mean and standard deviations will be calculated for continuous variables, as well as frequencies and relative frequencies for categorical variables. 95% confidence intervals will be calculated for all demographic measures.
To analyse the effect of the post content (personal anecdote vs awareness campaign) and symptom descriptions (evidence-based symptoms vs misrepresentative symptoms) on participants’ intention to self-diagnose ADHD and secondary outcomes, five 2x2 between-subjects ANOVAs will be conducted.
SPSS version 27.0 will be used to conduct the analysis. Outliers will be identified using boxplots and Z-scores, and appropriate measures will be taken (e.g., exclusion) as needed. Furthermore, a content analysis will be utilised to extract patterns and/or themes from open-ended questions and free-text responses in the survey data. The quantitative data analysis will be conducted in collaboration with a statistician to guarantee the appropriate application of statistical methods and the accuracy of the results.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/05/2025
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
31/05/2025
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
Sample size
Target
928
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
ACT,NSW,NT,QLD,SA,TAS,WA,VIC

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 318683 0
University
Name [1] 318683 0
The University of Sydney
Country [1] 318683 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
The University of Sydney
Address
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 321105 0
University
Name [1] 321105 0
Maastricht University
Address [1] 321105 0
Country [1] 321105 0
Netherlands

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Submitted, not yet approved
Ethics committee name [1] 317294 0
The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 317294 0
Ethics committee country [1] 317294 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 317294 0
04/02/2025
Approval date [1] 317294 0
Ethics approval number [1] 317294 0

Summary
Brief summary
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 140594 0
Dr Tessa Copp
Address 140594 0
Room 127A Edward Ford Building (A27) Fisher Road, The University of Sydney Camperdown NSW 2006
Country 140594 0
Australia
Phone 140594 0
+61 2 86277646
Fax 140594 0
Email 140594 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 140595 0
Tessa Copp
Address 140595 0
Room 127A Edward Ford Building (A27) Fisher Road, The University of Sydney Camperdown NSW 2006
Country 140595 0
Australia
Phone 140595 0
+61 2 86277646
Fax 140595 0
Email 140595 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 140596 0
Tessa Copp
Address 140596 0
Room 127A Edward Ford Building (A27) Fisher Road, The University of Sydney Camperdown NSW 2006
Country 140596 0
Australia
Phone 140596 0
+61 2 86277646
Fax 140596 0
Email 140596 0
[email protected]

Data sharing statement
Will the study consider sharing individual participant data?
Yes
Will there be any conditions when requesting access to individual participant data?
Persons/groups eligible to request access:
• Anyone
Conditions for requesting access:
• All individual participant data collected during the trial can be made available upon request in de identified CSV or excel datasets, along with the data dictionary.

What individual participant data might be shared?
• All de-identified individual participant data
What types of analyses could be done with individual participant data?
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Studies testing whether findings can be repeated or confirmed
When can requests for individual participant data be made (start and end dates)?
From:
After publication of main results
To:
A finite period of: 10 years
Where can requests to access individual participant data be made, or data be obtained directly?
• Email of trial custodian, sponsor or committee: Data can be obtained upon direct contact with the principal investigator. Contact details of the principal investigator are: [email protected]

Are there extra considerations when requesting access to individual participant data?
No


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided


Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.