Effectiveness of a Mayan Language Social Media Campaign on COVID-19 Vaccine Beliefs in Guatemala

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05252936
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: February 23, 2022
• Last Update Posted: April 7, 2022
• Sponsor: Stanford University
• Collaborators: Wuqu' Kawoq, Maya Health Alliance; University of California, San Francisco
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Jamie Johnston, Stanford University

Study Description

Brief Summary:

Prior evidence, including formative work supporting the development of this study, suggests there is widespread vaccine hesitancy among Indigenous communities in Guatemala, fueled by mistrust in the health system, lack of official information, and the circulation of myths and misinformation. We will test the effectiveness of a video-based social media campaign that provides a basic overview of the science behind COVID-19 vaccines and addresses prevalent myths and misinformation being shared in target communities. A series of animated videos will be promoted through Facebook Ads and randomized at the individual level across Facebook users throughout the entire country. To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish language, 2) K'iche' language, and 3) Kaqchikel language. Our primary outcomes are responses to two attitudinal questions collected via Facebook polling: 1) How safe do you think a COVID-19 vaccine is for people like you? (options: very safe, somewhat safe, barely safe, not safe, don't know); and 2) When you think of most people whose opinion you value, how much would they approve of people getting a COVID-19 vaccine? (options: definitely approve, mostly approve, somewhat approve, not at all approve, don't know). We will measure effects of the three treatment arms across Spanish speakers (including K'iche' and Kaqchikel speakers who also speak Spanish). We will also measure the effectiveness of K'iche vs. Spanish content among K'iche speakers and Kaqchikel vs. Spanish content for Kaqchikel speakers.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Vaccination Refusal	Other: COVID-19 vaccine social media campaign exposure	Not Applicable

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 5000 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Intervention Model Description: To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish language, 2) K'iche' language, and 3) Kaqchikel language. We will measure effects of the three treatment arms across Spanish speakers (including K'iche' and Kaqchikel speakers who also speak Spanish). We will also measure the effectiveness of K'iche vs. Spanish content among K'iche speakers and Kaqchikel vs. Spanish content for Kaqchikel speakers.
• Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Effectiveness of a Mayan Language Social Media Campaign on COVID-19 Vaccine
• Actual Study Start Date: March 14, 2022
• Actual Primary Completion Date: April 4, 2022
• Actual Study Completion Date: April 4, 2022

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Spanish language content; Social media campaign content with Spanish language voiceover	Other: COVID-19 vaccine social media campaign exposure; A series of animated video clips will be promoted through Facebook Ads and randomized at the individual level across Facebook users throughout the entire country. To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish, 2) K'iche', and 3) Kaqchikel languages. The videos are visually identical and follow the same audio script, translated into the three focal language. Local voiceover artists were used to record the scripts in the three languages. A control group that is not exposed to any of the social media campaign content will serve as active comparator to allow for comparison of outcomes with treatment arms.
Experimental: K'iche' language content; Social media campaign content with K'iche' language voiceover	Other: COVID-19 vaccine social media campaign exposure; A series of animated video clips will be promoted through Facebook Ads and randomized at the individual level across Facebook users throughout the entire country. To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish, 2) K'iche', and 3) Kaqchikel languages. The videos are visually identical and follow the same audio script, translated into the three focal language. Local voiceover artists were used to record the scripts in the three languages. A control group that is not exposed to any of the social media campaign content will serve as active comparator to allow for comparison of outcomes with treatment arms.
Experimental: Kaqchikel language content; Social media campaign content with Kaqchikel language voiceover	Other: COVID-19 vaccine social media campaign exposure; A series of animated video clips will be promoted through Facebook Ads and randomized at the individual level across Facebook users throughout the entire country. To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish, 2) K'iche', and 3) Kaqchikel languages. The videos are visually identical and follow the same audio script, translated into the three focal language. Local voiceover artists were used to record the scripts in the three languages. A control group that is not exposed to any of the social media campaign content will serve as active comparator to allow for comparison of outcomes with treatment arms.
Active Comparator: Control; A control group that is not exposed to any of the social media campaign content will serve as control to allow for comparison of outcomes with treatment arms.	Other: COVID-19 vaccine social media campaign exposure; A series of animated video clips will be promoted through Facebook Ads and randomized at the individual level across Facebook users throughout the entire country. To investigate the effectiveness of Mayan language content, we are testing three treatment arms - visually identical videos in the 1) Spanish, 2) K'iche', and 3) Kaqchikel languages. The videos are visually identical and follow the same audio script, translated into the three focal language. Local voiceover artists were used to record the scripts in the three languages. A control group that is not exposed to any of the social media campaign content will serve as active comparator to allow for comparison of outcomes with treatment arms.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Beliefs about COVID-19 vaccine safety [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
   Our primary outcomes are responses to two attitudinal questions collected via Facebook polling. This outcome is response to the question: How safe do you think a COVID-19 vaccine is for people like you? (options: very safe, somewhat safe, barely safe, not safe, don't know).
2. Beliefs about COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among social network [ Time Frame: 4 weeks ]
   Our primary outcomes are responses to two attitudinal questions collected via Facebook polling. This outcome is response to the question: When you think of most people whose opinion you value, how much would they approve of people getting a COVID-19 vaccine? (options: definitely approve, mostly approve, somewhat approve, not at all approve, don't know).

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Gender Based Eligibility: Yes
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• The intervention will be delivered through the Facebook Ads platform. Intervention content will be promoted to Facebook Users throughout the entire country of Guatemala. K'iche' content will be targeted only in departments where the K'iche' language is primarily spoken. Kaqchikel content will be targeted only in departments where the Kaqchikel language is primarily spoken.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Only adult Facebook users of age 18 will be included. Users under age 18 are excluded.

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Guatemala

Wuqu' Kawoq - Maya Health Alliance

Tecpán Guatemala, Guatemala

Sponsors and Collaborators

Stanford University

Wuqu' Kawoq, Maya Health Alliance

University of California, San Francisco

More Information

• Responsible Party: Jamie Johnston, Research Director, Stanford University
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05252936
• Other Study ID Numbers: 63193
• First Posted: February 23, 2022
• Last Update Posted: April 7, 2022
• Last Verified: April 2022

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

• Plan to Share IPD: No

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No