The Effect of a Wordless, Animated, Social Media Video Intervention on COVID-19 Prevention: Online Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Innovative approaches to the dissemination of evidence-based COVID-19 health messages are urgently needed to counter social media misinformation about the pandemic. To this end, we designed a short, wordless, animated global health communication video (the CoVideo), which was rapidly distributed through social media channels to an international audience. Objective The objectives of this study were to (1) establish the CoVideo’s effectiveness in improving COVID-19 prevention knowledge, and (2) establish the CoVideo’s effectiveness in increasing behavioral intent toward COVID-19 prevention. Methods In May and June 2020, we enrolled 15,163 online participants from the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. We randomized participants to (1) the CoVideo arm, (2) an attention placebo control (APC) arm, and (3) a do-nothing arm, and presented 18 knowledge questions about preventive COVID-19 behaviors, which was our first primary endpoint. To measure behavioral intent, our second primary endpoint, we randomized participants in each arm to five list experiments. Results Globally, the video intervention was viewed 1.2 million times within the first 10 days of its release and more than 15 million times within the first 4 months. Knowledge in the CoVideo arm was significantly higher (mean 16.95, 95% CI 16.91-16.99) than in the do-nothing (mean 16.86, 95% CI 16.83-16.90; P<.001) arm. We observed high baseline levels of behavioral intent to perform many of the preventive behaviors featured in the video intervention. We were only able to detect a statistically significant impact of the CoVideo on one of the five preventive behaviors. Conclusions Despite high baseline levels, the intervention was effective at boosting knowledge of COVID-19 prevention. We were only able to capture a measurable change in behavioral intent toward one of the five COVID-19 preventive behaviors examined in this study. The global reach of this health communication intervention and the high voluntary engagement of trial participants highlight several innovative features that could inform the design and dissemination of public health messages. Short, wordless, animated videos, distributed by health authorities via social media, may be an effective pathway for rapid global health communication during health crises. Trial Registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00021582; https://tinyurl.com/6r4zkbbn International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1186/s13063-020-04942-7

The Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign to Increase COVID-19 Testing in Migrant Groups: Cluster Randomized Trial

“…The results illustrate that tailoring the message to the targeted groups may increase the effectiveness of the interventions. Similarly, Vandormael et al [ 16 ] have conducted a web-based RCT to investigate the effect of a short video on improving COVID-19 prevention knowledge and behavioral intent toward COVID-19 prevention. They concluded the following: “Short, wordless, animated videos, distributed by health authorities via social media, may be an effective pathway for rapid global health communication during health crises” [ 16 ].…”

“…Similarly, Vandormael et al [ 16 ] have conducted a web-based RCT to investigate the effect of a short video on improving COVID-19 prevention knowledge and behavioral intent toward COVID-19 prevention. They concluded the following: “Short, wordless, animated videos, distributed by health authorities via social media, may be an effective pathway for rapid global health communication during health crises” [ 16 ]. Lastly, the results of Alatas et al [ 17 ] suggest that celebrity endorsement in a social media campaign in Indonesia influenced beliefs about vaccination and knowledge of immunization.…”

Participant engagement with a short, wordless, animated video on COVID-19 prevention: a multi-site randomized trial

“…The dissemination of short and animated story-based (SAS) videos is a promising strategy for countering COVID-19 misinformation ( Adam et al , 2020 ; Vandormael et al , 2020 ). SAS videos draw from entertainment-education media, communication theory, and the animated entertainment industry to promote compelling, evidence-based health messages that are optimized for “viral spread” across social media channels ( Singhal and Rogers, 1999 ; Adam et al , 2019 ; Lutkenhaus et al , 2020 ; Vandormael et al , 2021a,b ). To counter COVID-19 misinformation, we produced a SAS video (called the CoVideo) that explains the spread of the novel coronavirus and promotes evidence-based information on preventive behaviours such as hand-washing, wearing masks, social distancing and the sanitation of surfaces, among others.…”

“…In a recent study, we evaluated if the CoVideo improved knowledge and behavioural intent towards COVID-19 prevention ( Vandormael et al , 2021a ). Using a web-based experiment platform, we randomized 15 163 participants from Germany, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the USA to the CoVideo, an attention placebo control (APC) video or a do-nothing arm.…”

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“…As narrative messages do not include a direct, controlling language and words, such as should , must , and required [ 5 , 6 ], and conceal the persuasive intent, they can be more effective when compared with traditional health communication strategies [ 7 ]. To further explore the effectiveness of these innovative strategies in health communication, we created a short and animated story-based (SAS) video that draws from entertainment-education media, communication theory, and the animated entertainment industry to promote healthy behaviors over social media channels [ 8 ]. However, SAS videos may face the same challenges faced by other traditional methods of health persuasion that often arouse a motivation to reject the health message, a phenomenon known as reactance [ 9 ].…”