mHealth Behavioural Intervention to Increase Breast Cancer Screening Rates Among Members of the Public

mHealth Behavioural Intervention to Increase Breast Cancer Screening Rates Among Members of the Public

Late-stage presentation of breast cancer cases are on the rise in Malaysia. Encouraging breast screening practices can assist in early breast cancer detection. Literature has proven that behavior interventions in the form of behavior change health communication using social messaging applications is a viable strategy and potentially effective at motivating breast cancer screening among the public. Such studies are scarce in the South East Asian region, particularly in Malaysia, which is the prime motivation for the current study,

Based on this promising prospect, a randomized controlled trial will be designed to study the effects of applying persuasive health communication materials to initiate behavior change among a group of Malaysian women. Materials are delivered in the form of a health communication program over a social messaging application to promote breast cancer screening practices, which is either a clinical breast examination, or a mammogram. The investigators hypothesize that Malaysian women who are exposed to such materials that are designed based on behavior science and behavior change principles will be nudged and hence more likely to attend breast cancer screening compared to a control group.

This study involves a randomized controlled trial to asses the effectiveness of a health communication program using specifically designed materials using behavior science and behavior change principles. Materials were designed based on findings derived from a scoping review and interviewing Malaysian women through a series of qualitative interviews to determine the barriers and facilitators of attending breast cancer screening. The interview also investigated women's preferences for certain characteristics in a health message and health communication program that would motivate them to attend screening.

Participants in the main experimental group will be compared with a control group, and another group which undergoes a standard health communication program.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Malaysian women aged 40 years and above
2. Possess a smartphone with the predetermined social messaging application (derived from Phase 1 of study) installed.
3. Have not been diagnosed with cancer before.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Underwent Clinical Breast Examination in the past 12 months.
2. Mammogram screening in the past 2 years.
3. Subjects who are deemed to have cognitive impairment and unable to provide consent to the study.