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Optimizing Weblinks Used in Digital Vaccination Invitations to Raise Trust and Booking Intention: Online Experiment 1
Sponsor: University of Essex
Summary
This study investigates whether the design of weblinks in digital vaccination invitations affects how much people trust the message and their willingness to book an appointment. Researchers compare a standard third-party weblink used by the NHS ("accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk/r/aafwaczmd5") with an improved, more transparent weblink (https://vaccine-booking.nhs.uk). The study tests the hypothesis that the improved link will be perceived as more trustworthy and easier to read than the standard link. Further, the study tests whether participants would be more likely to correctly identify the sender and would be more willing to book a vaccine when shown the improved link. To test these effects, the investigators planned to conduct a study with 600 participants from the United Kingdom and 600 from the United States. Participants will be randomly assigned to view one of the two hypothetical email versions. UK participants will see an email that appears to be from the NHS. US participants will see an email from a fictitious pharmacy (Pharma-US).This research aims to provide evidence on how to design more trustworthy digital health communications when recipients are asked to click a weblink.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
1226
Start Date
2022-01-03
Completion Date
2022-01-10
Last Updated
2026-04-08
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Improved trust and engagement
The intervention involves presenting a digital COVID-19 booster vaccination invitation via email. Participants are randomly allocated to view one of two versions of the invitation to evaluate the impact of the weblink design on trust and behaviour. To ensure local relevance, the email content is adapted based on the participant's country of residence; participants in the United Kingdom see invitations sent from the NHS, while those in the United States see invitations from Pharma-US
Locations (1)
University of Essex
Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom