Conectados: Social Networks and Social Media for Vaccine Uptake

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Vaccination

Treatments: Behavioral: Vaccine Information Video Dissemination

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07096245

23-38709

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study is testing different ways of sharing a short, community-informed video about flu and COVID-19 vaccines to see how people respond to it. The video was created with input from Indigenous community members in California and provides information to support vaccine decision-making. Participants may see the video in one of three ways: through a paid advertisement on social media, from a trusted community organization, or from someone they know personally. After watching the video, viewers will be asked to answer one question about how much they trust it, and they may choose to complete a short survey about their vaccine views and how they received the video. The goal is to understand how trust in vaccine information changes depending on who shares it, and to improve the way health messages are delivered to Indigenous and other underserved communities.

Full description

This is a randomized dissemination trial evaluating the impact of different message delivery strategies on trust, attitudes, and behavioral intentions related to flu and COVID-19 vaccination. The intervention consists of a short (approximately 2-minute) culturally tailored video, developed using human-centered design and community-based participatory approaches with Indigenous communities in California.

Participants are exposed to the video through one of three dissemination arms: (1) paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram targeting adults 65 and older in California; (2) peer-to-peer sharing by "seed" participants recruited from a prior phase of the study; and (3) community-based organization (CBO) outreach using established communication channels. All participants view the same video.

After viewing the video, participants are asked to respond to a single poll item ("How much do you trust this video?") and are invited to complete an optional, anonymous online survey assessing vaccine confidence, trust in the information source, and willingness to share the video. Survey responses are linked to the dissemination arm for comparative analysis.

Seed participants receive personalized, trackable video links and instructions to share them with at least 10 contacts in their network. Click-level analytics (e.g., timestamp, referral source, general location) are collected through Bitly or Rebrandly links. YouTube analytics will also be used to evaluate video engagement (e.g., views, retention, traffic source). No identifiable health information is collected unless participants voluntarily provide contact information to complete the survey by phone.

The primary outcome is the level of trust in the video across dissemination arms. Secondary outcomes include survey completion rate, willingness to share the video, and changes in vaccine-related attitudes. Data will be stratified by dissemination method and, for seed participants, linked to prior social network data collected in Phase 1.

Enrollment: 500 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18 years or older
• Currently resides in California
• Able to access and view an online video
• Able to complete an online survey in English or Spanish For Arm 2 only (Participant Seed Arm): must have participated in the prior Aim 1 survey and consented to recontact

Exclusion criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Does not reside in California
• Unable to access the internet to view the intervention video or complete the survey

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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500 participants in 3 patient groups

Social media

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in this arm will view a short (2-3 minute) educational video about flu and COVID-19 vaccines through paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. After viewing the video, they will be asked to respond to a single poll question: "How much do you trust this video?" Participants will then be invited to complete an optional, anonymous online survey assessing vaccine confidence, trust in the information source, and willingness to share the video. All procedures are self-directed and occur online.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Vaccine Information Video Dissemination

Participant seed

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm are individuals who previously completed a related survey and consented to be recontacted. These "seed" participants receive a personalized video link and instructions to share it with at least 10 people in their personal networks. They will first watch the same 2-3 minute vaccine education video, answer a 1-question poll ("How much do you trust this video?"), and complete an anonymous online survey assessing vaccine attitudes, trust in the message and source, and willingness to share. Recipients of their shared video link may also complete the poll and survey. Sharing patterns are tracked via unique link analytics.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Vaccine Information Video Dissemination

Community based organizations

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm will view a short educational video about flu and COVID-19 vaccines distributed by trusted community-based organizations (CBOs) using their usual communication methods, such as WhatsApp, email, newsletters, or social media. After watching the video, participants will be asked to answer a 1-question poll ("How much do you trust this video?") and will be invited to complete an optional, anonymous online survey assessing vaccine attitudes, trust in the source of the information, and willingness to share the video. CBOs will use unique tracking links to monitor video engagement.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Vaccine Information Video Dissemination