Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
Department of Education, Health & Behavior Studies, College of Education & Human Development, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
Cancer Med. 2023 Jan;12(2):2027-2032. doi: 10.1002/cam4.4988. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
Radon is a preventable cause of lung cancer, but the percentage of homes tested for radon is low. We previously developed a smartphone app that informs users about radon and allows them to request a free radon test. Here we conducted a randomized, controlled trial comparing the radon app versus printed brochures on radon knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, including the proportion of participants requesting radon tests. Participants (N = 138) were undergraduates at a midwestern university. Data were analyzed by t-tests, general linear models, and logistic regression. App users showed significantly greater increases in radon knowledge (p = 0.010) and self-efficacy (p < 0.001) and requested tests three times more often than brochure recipients (41.4% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001). However, the rate of test usage in each condition was low, ~3%. In conclusion, the radon app markedly outperformed brochures in increasing knowledge and requests for radon tests. Future work should focus on methods to increase test usage.
氡是肺癌的可预防病因，但检测氡的家庭比例较低。我们之前开发了一款智能手机应用程序，该应用程序可以向用户提供有关氡的信息，并允许他们请求免费的氡测试。在这里，我们进行了一项随机对照试验，比较了氡应用程序与有关氡的知识、态度和行为的印刷小册子，包括请求氡测试的参与者比例。参与者（N=138）为中西部一所大学的本科生。数据分析采用 t 检验、一般线性模型和逻辑回归。应用程序用户的氡知识（p=0.010）和自我效能感（p<0.001）显著增加，请求测试的频率是小册子接受者的三倍（41.4%比 13.2%，p<0.001）。然而，两种情况下的测试使用率都很低，约为 3%。总之，氡应用程序在增加知识和请求氡测试方面明显优于小册子。未来的工作应重点关注提高测试使用率的方法。
