Introduction: Oral cancer is a malignant neoplastic disease affecting the lip, oral cavity (mouth) and/or the oropharynx. Despite the intense and diverse public health interventions on oral cancer prevention, the global prevalence rates of oral cancer and its major risk factors are still very high. Hence, oral cancer is an issue of serious global health importance.
Aim: To test and compare the effectiveness, usability, uptake, and acceptability of an educational website and a mobile health application prototype on oral cancer in improving oral cancer knowledge among university students.
Methods: This study will adopt a randomised control trial design, and it will be conducted among 75 first-year bachelor's degree students from five universities across two continents: University of Rwanda (Rwanda, Africa), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Nigeria, Africa), University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka, Asia), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and Saveetha University (India, Aisa). The study participants will be in three groups (Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3). The participants in Group 1 will be the control group (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university); that is the group that will not receive an educational intervention. However, those in Group 2 (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university) will receive a web-based educational intervention on oral cancer while those in Group 3 (n = 25 participants; 5 participants from each university) will receive an app-based educational intervention on oral cancer. Pretest survey and posttest survey will be done for all participants. The data collected will be statistically analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28 software. Descriptive statistics will be done for all variables while inferential statistics (analysis of variance) will be done to test for associations between variables of interest.
Conclusion: The findings of this study will determine the effectiveness, usability, uptake, and acceptability of the tested digital intervention tools.
being a first-year bachelor degree student of either University of Rwanda (Rwanda), University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Nigeria), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), or Saveetha University (India)
being within the age range of 18 to 39 years
having a personal smartphone
willingness to participate in the study
being a member of staff or a visitor or a non-first year bachelor degree student of University of Rwanda (Rwanda), University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Nigeria), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), or Saveetha University (India)
being a student of a tertiary institution not selected for the study
being below the age of 18 years or above the age of 39 years.
not having a personal smartphone
Parallel
A web-based educational intervention on oral cancer
BehavioralThis intervention will involve administering education, via a website, on the meaning, risks, clinical features, prevention, treatment, and supports on oral cancer.
A mobile health app-based educational intervention on oral cancer
BehavioralThis intervention will involve administering education, via a mhealth application prototype, on the meaning, risks, clinical features, prevention, treatment, and supports on oral cancer.
Measurement of change in baseline knowledge on oral cancer four weeks post-intervention using a questionnaire
This primary outcome measure will be a change in knowledge on oral cancer at four weeks after the delivery of the intervention, and this will be done using a questionnaire. All participants in both the control and intervention groups will be evaluated at baseline and at endline. This outcome will be measured using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was developed by the investigators. The questionnaire will obtain assess the participants' knowledge of oral cancer through the use of 10 multiple choice questions
Measurement of the usability of the intervention tools using an adapted version of the user Mobile Application Rating Scale
This secondary outcome measure will be on the usability of the intervention tools, and this will be done using a questionnaire. Only those participants in the intervention groups will be evaluated on this outcome, and this will be done at post-intervention survey stage. This outcome will be measured using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was adapted from a standardised instrument called the "user Mobile Application Rating Scale". This instrument uses diverse Likert scales with a Likert score of 1 representing the extreme negative outcome (lowest rating on the tool's usability) while a score of 5 representing the extreme positive outcome (highest rating on the tool's usability).
Measurement of the uptake of the intervention tools using an adapted version of the user Mobile Application Rating Scale
This secondary outcome measure will be on the uptake of the intervention tools, and this will be done using a questionnaire. Only those participants in the intervention groups will be evaluated on this outcome, and this will be done at post-intervention survey stage. This outcome will be measured using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was adapted from a standardised instrument called the "user Mobile Application Rating Scale". This instrument uses diverse Likert scales with a Likert score of 1 representing the extreme negative outcome (lowest rating on the tool's uptake) while a score of 5 representing the extreme positive outcome (highest rating on the tool's uptake)
Measurement of the acceptability of the intervention tools using an adapted version of the user Mobile Application Rating Scale
This secondary outcome measure will be on the acceptability of the intervention tools, and this will be done using a questionnaire. Only those participants in the intervention groups will be evaluated on this outcome, and this will be done at post-intervention survey stage. This outcome will be measured using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was adapted from a standardised instrument called the "user Mobile Application Rating Scale". This instrument uses diverse Likert scales with a Likert score of 1 representing the extreme negative outcome (lowest rating on the tool's acceptability) while a score of 5 representing the extreme positive outcome (highest rating on the tool's acceptability).
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University of Rwanda
Lead sponsor
University of Peradeniya
Collaborator
University of Ibadan
Collaborator
Usmanu Danfodiyo University
Collaborator
Saveetha University
Collaborator
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