Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objective
Despite efforts to reduce cancer disparities, Black women remain underrepresented in cancer research. Virtual health assistants (VHAs) are one promising digital technology for communicating health messages and promoting health behaviors to diverse populations. This study describes participant responses to a VHA-delivered intervention promoting colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a home-stool test.Methods
We recruited 53 non-Hispanic Black women 50 to 73 years old to participate in focus groups and think-aloud interviews and test a web-based intervention delivered by a race- and gender-concordant VHA. A user-centered design approach prioritized modifications to three successive versions of the intervention based on participants' comments.Results
Participants identified 26 cues relating to components of the VHA's credibility, including trustworthiness, expertise, and authority. Comments on early versions revealed preferences for communicating with a human doctor and negative critiques of the VHA's appearance and movements. Modifications to specific cues improved the user experience, and participants expressed increased willingness to engage with later versions of the VHA and the screening messages it delivered. Informed by the Modality, Agency, Interactivity, Navigability Model, we present a framework for developing credible VHA-delivered cancer screening messages.Conclusions
VHAs provide a systematic way to deliver health information. A culturally sensitive intervention designed for credibility promoted user interest in engaging with guideline-concordant CRC screening messages. We present strategies for effectively using cues to engage audiences with health messages, which can be applied to future research in varying contexts.
SUBMITTER: Vilaro MJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7821126 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Vilaro Melissa J MJ Wilson-Howard Danyell S DS Griffin Lauren N LN Tavassoli Fatemeh F Zalake Mohan S MS Lok Benjamin C BC Modave Francois P FP George Thomas J TJ Carek Peter J PJ Krieger Janice L JL
Psycho-oncology 20200915 12
<h4>Objective</h4>Despite efforts to reduce cancer disparities, Black women remain underrepresented in cancer research. Virtual health assistants (VHAs) are one promising digital technology for communicating health messages and promoting health behaviors to diverse populations. This study describes participant responses to a VHA-delivered intervention promoting colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a home-stool test.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited 53 non-Hispanic Black women 50 to 73 years old to ...[more]