OBJECTIVE: Research on public outreach campaigns is presented. BACKGROUND: One study examines the effects of instruction design on adherence to cancer self-screening instructions. A second study examines the effect of persuasive announcements on increasing screening campaign participation. METHOD: The first study examined adherence to screening (operationalized as returning results for evaluation) given standard instructions, or one of three other versions: persuasive, human factored, or a combination of the two.The second study investigated combining persuasion with a campaign announcement to increase participation (operationalized as picking up a test kit). RESULTS: The first study found that among first-time participants, the persuasive and human-factored instructions evoked higher result return rates than did the standard. The second study found that participation was significantly increased by adding persuasion to the campaign announcement. CONCLUSION: Enhancing motivation and reducing cognitive barriers increase adherence to test instructions and increase participation. APPLICATION: These are simple, cost-effective strategies that increase adherence to cancer screening in public outreach campaigns,which may reduce cancer-specific mortality.
OBJECTIVE: Research on public outreach campaigns is presented. BACKGROUND: One study examines the effects of instruction design on adherence to cancer self-screening instructions. A second study examines the effect of persuasive announcements on increasing screening campaign participation. METHOD: The first study examined adherence to screening (operationalized as returning results for evaluation) given standard instructions, or one of three other versions: persuasive, human factored, or a combination of the two.The second study investigated combining persuasion with a campaign announcement to increase participation (operationalized as picking up a test kit). RESULTS: The first study found that among first-time participants, the persuasive and human-factored instructions evoked higher result return rates than did the standard. The second study found that participation was significantly increased by adding persuasion to the campaign announcement. CONCLUSION: Enhancing motivation and reducing cognitive barriers increase adherence to test instructions and increase participation. APPLICATION: These are simple, cost-effective strategies that increase adherence to cancer screening in public outreach campaigns,which may reduce cancer-specific mortality.