The Impact of Video-Based Microinterventions on Attitudes Toward Mental Health and Help Seeking in Youth: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Mental health (MH) problems in youth are prevalent, burdening, and frequently persistent. Despite the existence of effective treatment, the uptake of professional help is low, particularly due to attitudinal barriers. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of 2 video-based microinterventions aimed at reducing barriers to MH treatment and increasing the likelihood of seeking professional help in young people. METHODS: This study was entirely web based and open access. The interventions addressed 5 MH problems: generalized anxiety disorder, depression, bulimia, nonsuicidal self-injury, and problematic alcohol use. Intervention 1 aimed to destigmatize and improve MH literacy, whereas intervention 2 aimed to induce positive outcome expectancies regarding professional help seeking. Of the 2435 participants who commenced the study, a final sample of 1394 (57.25%) participants aged 14 to 29 years with complete data and sufficient durations of stay on the video pages were randomized in a fully automated manner to 1 of the 5 MH problems and 1 of 3 conditions (control, intervention 1, and intervention 2) in a permuted block design. After the presentation of a video vignette, no further videos were shown to the control group, whereas a second, short intervention video was presented to the intervention 1 and 2 groups. Intervention effects on self-reported potential professional help seeking (primary outcome), stigma, and attitudes toward help seeking were examined using analyses of covariance across and within the 5 MH problems. Furthermore, we assessed video acceptability. RESULTS: No significant group effects on potential professional help seeking were found in the total sample (F2,1385=0.99; P=.37). However, the groups differed significantly with regard to stigma outcomes and the likelihood of seeking informal help (F2,1385=3.75; P=.02). Furthermore, separate analyses indicated substantial differences in intervention effects among the 5 MH problems. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to promote help seeking for MH problems may require disorder-specific approaches. The study results can inform future research and public health campaigns addressing adolescents and young adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023110; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00023110.

Video-Based Educational Interventions for Patients With Chronic Illnesses: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: With rising time constraints, health care professionals increasingly depend on technology to provide health advice and teach patients how to manage chronic disease. The effectiveness of video-based tools in improving knowledge, health behaviors, disease severity, and health care use for patients with major chronic illnesses is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the current literature regarding the efficacy of video-based educational tools for patients in improving process and outcome measures across several chronic illnesses. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using CINAHL and PubMed with predefined search terms. The search included studies published through October 2021. The eligible studies were intervention studies of video-based self-management patient education for an adult patient population with the following chronic health conditions: asthma, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic pain syndromes, diabetes, heart failure, HIV infection, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatologic disorders. The eligible papers underwent full extraction of study characteristics, study design, sample demographics, and results. Bias was assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools. Summary statistics were synthesized in Stata SE (StataCorp LLC). Data reporting was conducted per the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist. RESULTS: Of the 112 studies fully extracted, 59 (52.7%) were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. The majority of the included papers were superiority randomized controlled trials (RCTs; 39/59, 66%), with fewer pre-post studies (13/59, 22%) and noninferiority RCTs (7/59, 12%). The most represented conditions of interest were obstructive lung disease (18/59, 31%), diabetes (11/59, 19%), and heart failure (9/59, 15%). The plurality (28/59, 47%) of video-based interventions only occurred once and occurred alongside adjunct interventions that included printed materials, in-person counseling, and interactive modules. The most frequently studied outcomes were disease severity, health behavior, and patient knowledge. Video-based tools were the most effective in improving patient knowledge (30/40, 75%). Approximately half reported health behavior (21/38, 56%) and patient self-efficacy (12/23, 52%) outcomes were improved by video-based tools, and a minority of health care use (11/28, 39%) and disease severity (23/69, 33%) outcomes were improved by video-based tools. In total, 48% (22/46) of the superiority and noninferiority RCTs and 54% (7/13) of the pre-post trials had moderate or high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: There is robust evidence that video-based tools can improve patient knowledge across several chronic illnesses. These tools less consistently improve disease severity and health care use outcomes. Additional study is needed to identify features that maximize the efficacy of video-based interventions for patients across the spectrum of digital competencies to ensure optimized and equitable patient education and outcomes.

Effects of a culturally specific tobacco cessation intervention among African American Quitline enrollees: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: African Americans suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related illness and have more difficulty quitting smoking than other racial/ethnic groups. Previous research indicates that African American treatment-seekers are high utilizers of tobacco quitlines, yet cessation rates via quitlines are lower relative to whites. The goal of the present study is to test the effectiveness of adding a culturally specific, video-based, adjunct to standard quitline care. It is hypothesized that the integration of an evidence-based intervention (Pathways to Freedom: Leading the Way to a Smoke-Free Community©; PTF) into quitline services will increase cessation and treatment engagement compared to control conditions, and that effects will be moderated by sociocultural factors (e.g., culturally specific intervention expectancies, acculturation, and ethnic identity). METHODS: This study is a 3-arm semi-pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants will be 1050 enrollees in the North Carolina State quitline (QuitlineNC) who self-identify as African American. Usual quitline care includes up to 4 proactive quit coaching calls, website access, and two-weeks of nicotine patch therapy. Eligible study participants will be randomized to receive (1) standard quitline services plus PTF (PTF); (2) quitline services plus a standard tobacco cessation DVD (attention control); or (3) quitline services alone (usual care). Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3 and 6-months post-enrollment. The primary outcome will be biochemically verified 7 day ppa at 6-months. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and hierarchical logistic regression will be used to assess the effects of treatment group on cessation outcomes and to test potential moderators. DISCUSSION: This study will answer questions regarding the implementation and effectiveness of integrating a culturally specific video intervention into a real-world, population-level tobacco intervention. It will also aid our understanding of individual-difference variables that are associated with success. If an incremental benefit is found, this trial will have implications for increasing the responsiveness of tobacco quitlines for African Americans, reducing tobacco cessation disparities, and best practices for improving minority health. In addition, the PTF intervention has the potential for widespread disseminated through quitlines, which are available across the United States. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03064971 . Registered on February 22, 2017.

Food safety related efficacy beliefs, behaviors, beliefs in myths, and the effects of educational online interventions: Data from an online survey experiment with 1,973 consumers from Norway and the UK.

Data were collected in a randomized controlled trial of a game-based online intervention aimed at fostering awareness of food safety and risk-reducing behavior among consumers. 1,973 participants from the UK and Norway, aged 18-89 years, were assigned to (i) a control condition, or (ii) exposed to a brief information video, or (iii) in addition played an online game (two different conditions). In all conditions, participants answered a pre- and post-survey with seven days in between. The surveys comprised questions on sociodemographic background, preferences related to food, recent food safety behaviors and beliefs in the efficacy of a number of food safety actions, as well as beliefs in myths related to food and hygiene. Efficacy beliefs (13 questions in the pre- and post-surveys) capture how an individual thinks particular actions will affect the likelihood of contracting food-borne disease. Beliefs in myths (8 questions in the pre- and post-surveys) refer to commonly held 'true-or-false' beliefs with no base in scientific facts. Target behavior (21 questions in the pre- and post-surveys) refer to self-reported food safety behaviors that were targeted in the interventions. Additional questions address beliefs and behavior in relevant food safety areas that were not targeted in the interventions. The survey items related to beliefs and behaviors were based on or inspired by previous work of the SafeConsume EU consortium (www.safeconsume.eu). In the information condition, participants watched a two-minute information video about food safety. Participants were given information about five broad themes: personal hygiene (hand washing), kitchen hygiene (cleaning utensils and surfaces), washing fresh vegetables and fruits, not rinsing meat or poultry, checking the temperature of cooked meat or poultry. In the game conditions, participants first watched an information video (either the neutrally framed one from the information condition or a version with pictures framed to trigger a disgust reaction). Then participants prepared four recipes in an online game, where they were repeatedly confronted with food safety related actions. After each recipe, participants received feedback on how they handled a number of important food safety actions. Our survey measures provide scholars and practitioners with data from adults in Norway and the UK to perform analyses regarding consumers' knowledge and behavior related to food safety. Data and the replication code for the associated research article Koch et al. [3] are accessible at Koch et al. [4].

Teaching children with autism to tie their shoes using video prompt-models and backward chaining.

Video-Based Interventions (VBIs) are those that make use of pre-recorded video footage to assist in the acquisition of a variety of skills and behaviours. This study examined one type of VBI, video prompting, and its effectiveness when combined with backward chaining. Prior research suggests that both VBIs and backward chaining are effective intervention methods for skill acquisition. Using a single-subject multiple baseline design, this experiment expands the current literature by thoroughlyexamining backward chaining and a VBI for the acquisition of the shoe-tying behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The results obtained from this study support prior research that VBIs are effective and their effectiveness is influenced by a number of factors. We also found that majority of the participants were able to retain their newly acquired behaviors one week after achieving mastery.