Trial Review

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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12622000724774
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
16/03/2022
Date registered
20/05/2022
Date last updated
20/05/2022
Date data sharing statement initially provided
20/05/2022
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Effect of an Online (Social Media) Nudge Campaign to improve PrEP use among overseas-born gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
Scientific title
Effect of an Online (Social Media) Nudge Campaign to improve PrEP use among overseas-born gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
Secondary ID [1] 306442 0
Nil known
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
HIV infection 325280 0
Condition category
Condition code
Infection 322681 322681 0 0
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS / HIV)

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
An Online (Social media) Nudge Ad Campaign will be conducted over a period of 1 month in June 2022 on gay dating apps (e.g. Grindr, Jack’d, Hornet) and other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook). This campaign is aimed to target overseas-born gay, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men (Ob-GBM) living in Australia.

The campaign will have one intervention arm and one control arm. The intervention ad image will include an everyday-looking Asian model, plain facts about PrEP (i.e. “PrEP – 99% effective at preventing HIV”), a call to action (e.g. “Wanna get PrEP’D?”, “find out more”), and the text “www.pan.org.au”. The intervention ad will be static.

When an individual clicks on an intervention campaign ad on social media, it will redirect them to the PAN website (www.pan.org.au) where they can learn about PrEP, access a list of health providers who prescribe PrEP or online pharmacy websites to buy PrEP medication.

The intervention ad will be shown on social media platforms, such as Facebook and gay dating apps (i.e. Grindr). On Facebook, the ad image will be displayed on the user’s feed. On the dating apps, it will be displayed as interstitial ads.
Intervention code [1] 322872 0
Prevention
Comparator / control treatment
The control arm involves the use of a static online ad image, that shows only the minimum and simple message relating to PrEP, i.e. “PrEP - find out more” inside a coloured shape that resembles the PrEP pill.

When an individual clicks on this control campaign ad, it will redirect them to the PAN website (www.pan.org.au) where they can learn about PrEP, access a list of health providers who prescribe PrEP or online pharmacy websites to buy PrEP medication.

The control ad will be shown on social media platforms, such as Facebook and gay dating apps (i.e. Grindr). On Facebook, the ad image will be displayed on the user’s feed. On the dating apps, it will be displayed as interstitial ads.
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 330475 0
Number of individuals who arrive at the PAN website through clicking on the campaign ad images. The outcome will be measured by accessing google analytics data for the specific ad campaign website of PAN.
Timepoint [1] 330475 0
During the 4 weeks of the intervention period
Secondary outcome [1] 406371 0
Number of individuals who click on the link, “Where to get PrEP” on the PAN website. The outcome will be measured by accessing google analytics data, and Hotjar for the specific ad campaign website of PAN.
Timepoint [1] 406371 0
During the 4 weeks of the intervention period
Secondary outcome [2] 407526 0
Number of individuals who click on the link, “Buy PrEP online” on the PAN website. The outcome will be measured by accessing google analytics data, and Hotjar for the specific ad campaign website of PAN.
Timepoint [2] 407526 0
During the 4 weeks of the intervention period
Secondary outcome [3] 407527 0
Number of individuals who click on the link, “PrEP Blog” on the PAN website. The outcome will be measured by accessing google analytics data, and Hotjar for the specific ad campaign website of PAN.
Timepoint [3] 407527 0
During the 4 weeks of the intervention period
Secondary outcome [4] 407528 0
Number of individuals who click on the non-English language PrEP information links on the PAN website. The outcome will be measured by accessing google analytics data, and Hotjar for the specific ad campaign website of PAN.
Timepoint [4] 407528 0
During the 4 weeks of the intervention period
Secondary outcome [5] 407529 0
Number of individuals who saw the campaign ad. The outcome will be measured through an online survey using the same social media platforms used in the campaign. The outcome will be assessed using descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis of free-text responses.

The survey was designed specifically for this study.
Timepoint [5] 407529 0
2 week period of survey conducted 1 week after the campaign intervention period
Secondary outcome [6] 407530 0
Their impressions of the ad (e.g. what they liked or disliked). The outcome will be measured through an online survey using the same social media platforms used in the campaign. The outcome will be assessed using descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis of free-text responses.

The survey was designed specifically for this study.
Timepoint [6] 407530 0
2 week period of survey conducted 1 week after the campaign intervention period
Secondary outcome [7] 407531 0
Actions undertaken after seeing the ad. The outcome will be measured through an online survey using the same social media platforms used in the campaign. The outcome will be assessed using descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis of free-text responses.

The survey was designed specifically for this study.
Timepoint [7] 407531 0
2 week period of survey conducted 1 week after the campaign intervention period

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Any gender
18 years old and above
individuals who have access to social media
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
No limit
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
NONE

Study design
Purpose of the study
Prevention
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Masking / blinding
Open (masking not used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?



Intervention assignment
Parallel
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis
Google Analytics will be used to measure the number of click-through users to the PAN website from each platform with the campaign ad images.

Hotjar (a website analytic tool) will be used to measure the number of users who click on the various links on the PAN website.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/06/2022
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
30/06/2022
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
25/07/2022
Actual
Sample size
Target
1000
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
ACT,NSW,NT,QLD,SA,TAS,WA,VIC

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 310789 0
Commercial sector/Industry
Name [1] 310789 0
Gilead Pharmaceuticals
Country [1] 310789 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
Commercial sector/Industry
Name
Gilead Pharmaceuticals
Address
Level 6/417 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 312032 0
None
Name [1] 312032 0
n/a
Address [1] 312032 0
n/a
Country [1] 312032 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 310362 0
Alfred Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 310362 0
55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
Ethics committee country [1] 310362 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 310362 0
03/03/2022
Approval date [1] 310362 0
04/04/2022
Ethics approval number [1] 310362 0
119/22

Summary
Brief summary
Overseas-born gay, bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (Ob-GBM) populations are at an increased risk of HIV in Australia. Despite the availability of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), they experience socio-cultural, and systemic barriers to accessing PrEP as an effective HIV prevention biomedical tool.

Behavioural economics is a relatively new field, that is being applied by governments in policies and interventions to alter an individual’s behaviour in a predictable and cost-effective manner. It can be a powerful approach that blends psychological insights with economic decision-making processes of individuals, through ‘nudges’. A nudge is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives, such as using the default option, or social norms. For example, in health, nudges have been applied to improve the rate of organ donations, and to increase the rate of attendance at hospital consultations. In the field of HIV, the application of behavioural economics is also novel, and this study aims to contribute to the evidence of applications of nudges in HIV-related interventions.

This study aims to run an online (social media) nudge campaign to improve PrEP awareness and access through an ad campaign on social media platforms that target particularly among (overseas-born gay, bisexual men, and men who have sex with men (Ob-GBM) populations in Australia.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes
The goal of the campaign is to decrease the rates of HIV infections among overseas-born gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (ob-GBM) populations through an increase in use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an HIV prevention biomedical tool. The objectives of the study are: (1) to use the co-designed social media ad from a Nudgeathon event to create a national Online (Social Media) Nudge Campaign for improving PrEP awareness and access for Ob-GBM living in Australia, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Online (Social Media) Nudge Campaign.

The intervention arm will a static image relating to PrEP, that were co-designed previously during the Nudgeathon event and have received the most online votes in a survey. The intervention ad image utilises nudge aspects to improve the rate of access to PrEP medication. A nudge, in behavioural economics, is an aspect of the choice architecture that aims to alter an individual’s behaviour in a predictable, easy and cheap way.

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 117386 0
A/Prof Jason Ong
Address 117386 0
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
580 Swanston St, Carlton VIC 3053
Country 117386 0
Australia
Phone 117386 0
+61 401 660 753
Fax 117386 0
Email 117386 0
jong@mshc.org.au
Contact person for public queries
Name 117387 0
A/Prof Jason Ong
Address 117387 0
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
580 Swanston St, Carlton VIC 3053
Country 117387 0
Australia
Phone 117387 0
+61 03 9341 6200
Fax 117387 0
Email 117387 0
jong@mshc.org.au
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 117388 0
A/Prof Jason Ong
Address 117388 0
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
580 Swanston St, Carlton VIC 3053
Country 117388 0
Australia
Phone 117388 0
+61 03 9341 6200
Fax 117388 0
Email 117388 0
jong@mshc.org.au

Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
No
No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment


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.