NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s study reveals that public health messaging videos featuring diverse speakers, especially physicians, can increase patient trust, particularly among Black populations. The research highlights the significance of improving diversity in healthcare and emphasizes doctors’ crucial role in effective public health communication. Additionally, efforts to promote trust in clinical trials are essential, considering historical injustices. By embracing diversity, healthcare professionals can enhance the impact of messaging videos and bridge communication gaps for better health outcomes.
The efficacy of public health messaging videos can be significantly enhanced by incorporating greater diversity, according to recent research from NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Informative videos have long played a crucial role in disseminating public health information, and this study sheds light on the importance of building patient trust, especially among Black and racially underrepresented populations.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, focused on the trust levels of 2,900 individuals – both Black and White – while watching one of eight videos discussing prostate cancer screening and clinical trials. The videos featured different narrators: Black patients or physicians, and White patients or physicians, but utilized the same scripts.
One key finding was that participants, particularly those from Black communities, placed more trust in videos featuring racially diverse speakers and physicians. This indicates that increasing diversity in these messaging videos could be pivotal in cultivating patient trust, particularly among Black patients, who historically have had lower trust in medical messaging.
Interestingly, Black participants were more inclined to trust Black speakers in the videos. About 72 percent of Black participants trusted Black speakers, whereas only 64 percent showed the same level of trust for White narrators. In contrast, race did not appear to significantly influence patient trust among White study participants.
It is noteworthy that both Black and White participants exhibited similar preferences when it came to fostering patient trust. Both groups favored videos narrated by physicians over those narrated by patients, underscoring the crucial role doctors can play in public health messaging. Joseph E. Ravenell, MD, a study co-investigator, emphasized the responsibility of healthcare providers to actively engage in public communication, particularly in an environment rife with misinformation and confusion. He stated that people tend to trust what doctors have to say, making them effective messengers for health-related information.
Interestingly, both racial cohorts displayed higher trust in messages about prostate cancer screening than in those about clinical trials. This observation is not surprising, considering the historical injustices faced by Black populations in medical research, such as the notorious Tuskegee syphilis experiment. To promote greater trust in clinical trials, healthcare stakeholders must work towards ensuring that all patients, regardless of their racial or ethnic background, have access to knowledge about such trials and the opportunity to participate if eligible, as highlighted by study senior author Aisha Langford, Ph.D., MPH.
Overall, by incorporating more diverse voices, particularly physicians, in public health messaging videos, healthcare professionals can bolster patient trust and improve the effectiveness of such campaigns. These insights from the study underscore the significance of bridging gaps in communication and inclusivity to promote better health outcomes for all.
