Social Media for Colorectal Cancer Screening
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Social media message #1, Social media message #2, Social media message #3, Social Media Message #4.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Colorectal Cancer, Cancer Screening. Basic parameters: 55 years — 64 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Canada
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Utilizing Social Media for Colorectal Cancer Screening: an Innovative Randomized Controlled Trial
Overview
Using social media for health promotion is an innovative and emerging approach but remains relatively unexplored in cancer screening. Uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening remains low and standard methods of reaching out are expensive with limited impact. The objective of this study is to conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of social media messages for CRC screening on screening intention (primary outcome). The results of this trial will be of interest to Ontario Health and are likely to be taken up by other screening programs looking for innovative and novel ways to increase screening participation. The study results will be easily translatable identifying the most compelling CRC screening messages while the approach can easily be translated to other cancer disease sites with screening programs.
Detailed description
The investigators will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Facebook users (aged 50+) in Ontario. Randomization will be done at the level of the forward sortation area (FSA) - the first three characters of the postal code. All FSAs in Ontario will be randomized to one of six study arms - users assigned to each arm will receive one of the social media messages or no message (control). If users click on the message, a webpage with further information on screening will appear and participants will be asked to indicate intention to get screened for CRC. The primary outcome will be intention to screen and secondary outcomes will include other engagement metrics such as reach, cost-per-click, click-through rates, number of likes, number of impressions, and post comments.
This study will inform the feasibility of using social media for CRC screening and identify the most compelling CRC screening messages for the screen-eligible population.
Interventions
- Other Social media message #1
Social media message promoting colorectal cancer screening - Other Social media message #2
A different social media message promoting colorectal cancer screening - Other Social media message #3
A different social media message promoting colorectal cancer screening - Other Social Media Message #4
A different social media message promoting colorectal cancer screening. - Other Tailored Social Media Message
Tailored social media messages promoting colorectal cancer screening.
Primary outcome measures
- Screening intention [Time frame: From date of randomization to end of data collection (1 month)]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Cost-per-click [Time frame: From date of randomization to end of data collection (1 month)]
- Click-through-rate [Time frame: From date of randomization to the end of data collection (1 month)]
- Number of likes [Time frame: At the end of the study period at 1 month]
- Number of impressions [Time frame: At the end of the study period at 1 month]
- Post comments [Time frame: At the end of the study period at 1 month]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Facebook users in Ontario who are between 55-64 years of age
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
Study locations
Canada · 1 center
- Unity Health Toronto — Toronto
Publications
- Ruco A, Baker N, Howse M, Sorvari A, Jacobson J, Llovet D, Tinmouth J, Moineddin R, Baxter NN. Using Facebook to Improve Participation in Colorectal Cancer Screening: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2026 May 14;15:e86829. doi: 10.2196/86829. PMID 42133942
Identifiers
NCT: NCT04296630 · 20-005