Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Department of Population Health, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Apr 25;20(9):5634. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20095634.
Exposure to residential radon is a preventable cause of cancer. Prevention requires testing, but the percentage of homes that have been tested is small. One reason for the low testing rates may be that printed brochures fail to motivate people to obtain and return a radon test.
We developed a radon app for smartphones that contained the same information as printed brochures. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial that compared the app to brochures in a population comprised largely of homeowners. Cognitive endpoints included radon knowledge, attitudes toward testing, perceived severity and susceptibility to radon, and response and self-efficacy. Behavioral endpoints were participants' requests for a free radon test and the return of the test to the lab. Participants (N = 116) were residents of Grand Forks, North Dakota, a city with one of the nation's highest radon levels. Data were analyzed by general linear models and logistic regression.
Participants in both conditions showed significant increases in radon knowledge ( < 0.001), perceived susceptibility ( < 0.001), and self-efficacy ( = 0.004). There was a significant interaction, with app users showing greater increases. After controlling for income, app users were three times more likely to request a free radon test. However, contrary to expectation, app users were 70% less likely to return it to the lab ( < 0.01).
Our findings confirm the superiority of smartphones in stimulating radon test requests. We speculate that the advantage of brochures in promoting test returns may be due to their ability to serve as physical reminders.
接触住宅氡是可预防的癌症原因。预防需要进行测试，但接受测试的家庭比例很小。测试率低的一个原因可能是印刷手册未能促使人们获取并返回氡测试。
我们为智能手机开发了一个氡应用程序，其中包含与印刷手册相同的信息。我们进行了一项随机对照试验，将该应用程序与主要由房主组成的人群中的手册进行了比较。认知终点包括氡知识、对测试的态度、对氡的感知严重程度和易感性，以及反应和自我效能。行为终点是参与者对免费氡测试的请求以及将测试返回实验室。参与者（N=116）是北达科他州大福克斯市的居民，该市的氡水平是全国最高的城市之一。数据通过一般线性模型和逻辑回归进行分析。
两种情况下的参与者氡知识（<0.001）、感知易感性（<0.001）和自我效能感（=0.004）均显着增加。有一个显着的相互作用，应用程序用户的增加幅度更大。在控制收入后，申请免费氡测试的应用程序用户的可能性是其三倍。然而，与预期相反，应用程序用户将其返回实验室的可能性降低了 70%（<0.01）。
我们的研究结果证实了智能手机在刺激氡测试请求方面的优越性。我们推测，手册在促进测试返回方面的优势可能归因于它们作为物理提醒的能力。
