An interventional study of New items with spin and New items without spin in The Study Focus on no Specific Condition, sponsored by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris. Withdrawn at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-02-12.
Sponsored by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
The main objective of this study is to compare the interpretation of health news items reporting results of pre-clinical studies with or without spin (i.e., distortion of research results). The news items which reported those studies evaluating the treatment effect either in cell culture studies or animal studies, have high number of spin in the headline and text and received high online public attention will be selected. Spin will be deleted and will rewrite the news items without spin. This sample of news items reporting results of pre-clinical studies with and without spin will be interpreted by French-speaking population.
Health news is an important way to communicate updated medical research to the public. News items reporting the results of medical research attract a large audience. However, the quality of reporting in health news is questionable. The merits of a wide range of treatments and tests are overplayed and harms are underplayed. Several studies have shown the presence of spin (i.e., distorted presentation of study results) in health news. Distorted facts can be misleading and can affect the behaviour of physicians, healthcare providers and patients. However, little research has assessed whether spin can affect readers' interpretation of health news items.
Objective: To compare the interpretation of health news items reported with or without spin. News items reporting pre-clinical studies evaluating the effect of a pharmacological treatment that received high online public attention will be focused. "Spin" is defined as a misrepresentation of study results whatever the motive (intentionally or unintentionally) to highlight that the beneficial effect of the intervention in terms of efficacy and safety is greater than that shown by the results.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis of this study is that the spin can influence the reader's interpretation of health news items reporting results of pre-clinical studies.
Design: A randomized controlled trial
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris is the lead sponsor of 3,505 studies on the registry; 1,006 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
-
News items reporting results of animal studies with spin.
Other: New items with spin
News items reporting results of animal studies without spin.
Other: New items without spin
Interpretation of news items with spin
Interpretation of news items without spin
Perception of beneficial effect of the treatment X. We ask participants, What do you think is the probability that treatment X would be beneficial to patients?
With the choices of answers on a 10 points Likert scale, (scale, 0 \[very unlikely\] to 10 \[very likely\])
Time frame: As the intervention is assigned (reading the news item) i.e., 1-2 hours
Perception of efficacy, safety, availability and clinical utility in existing clinical practice for the treatment X. We will ask the participants: What do you think is the size of the potential benefit for patients?
With the choice of answers on a 5 points scale, (scale, \[none, small, moderate or large\]) -- analysis none, small vs moderate, large
Time frame: As the intervention is assigned (reading the news item) i.e., 1-2 hours
How safe do you think that treatment X would be for patients?
With the choices of answers on a 10 points Likert scale, (scale, 0 \[very unsafe\] to 10 \[very safe\])
Time frame: As the intervention is assigned (reading the news item) i.e., 1-2 hours
Do you think this treatment should be offered to patients in the short term?
With the choices of answers on a 10 points Likert scale, (scale, 0 \[absolutely no\] to 10 \[absolutely yes\])
Time frame: As the intervention is assigned (reading the news item) i.e., 1-2 hours
Do you think this treatment will make a difference in the existing clinical practice?
With the choices of answers on a 10 points Likert scale, (scale, 0 \[absolutely no\] to 10 \[absolutely yes\])
Time frame: As the intervention is assigned (reading the news item) i.e., 1-2 hours
Plan to share: No
This study is withdrawn, as verified in Feb 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris