Effectiveness of Conflict-of-interest Disclosures on Trust, Credibility and Transparency When Displayed on Social Media Posts From Registered Dietitians

NCT06697171 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 17546
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,409
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

There is limited research to inform policies and guidelines related to disclosing conflicts of interest on social media by healthcare professionals, including Registered Dietitians (RDs). This trial investigates mock social media posts by an RD to examine the impact of varying forms of conflict-of-interest (COI) disclosures. The disclosures tested are based on the Canadian Ad Standards "Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines" and are incorporated into recommendations established by the provincial dietetic regulatory bodies for RDs. Specific outcomes evaluated include the public's ability to identify a COI; trust in the RD; credibility of the RD; transparency of the social media post and; purchasing and consumption intentions of the product endorsed by an RD in the post.

Conditions

Registered Dietitian; Conflict of Interest; Trust; Credibility; Transparency

Keywords

Registered Dietitian; Conflict of Interest

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Conflict of Interest

  Participant identification of COI will be: * Assessed by the statement "I believe the person in the post has a conflict of interest" * Evaluated on a 5-point Likert Scale from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). There is no "not applicable" option.

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Trust

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Credibility

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Purchasing Intentions

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Consumption Intentions

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Transparency

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

Other Outcomes (4)

• Recommendation

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Engagement with the post

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

• Healthfulness

  Measured after 5-10 minutes of exposure to the social media post

Study Arms (5)

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

No COI Disclosure (Control). Only @brandname is tagged in the social media post narrative body.

Other: Control

Group 1 Not an Ad Disclosure

EXPERIMENTAL

Disclosure includes @brandname and #NotAnAd in the social media post narrative body.

Other: Group 1 Not an ad disclosure

Group 2 Basic Disclosure

EXPERIMENTAL

Disclosure includes @brandname and #ad in the narrative body of the social media post.

Other: Group 2 Basic Disclosure

Group 3 Basic + Paid Partnership Disclosure

EXPERIMENTAL

Disclosure includes a branded "paid partnership" in the header and a tag for the industry partner, @brandname and #ad immediately at the beginning of the post, and #ad and #sponsored at the bottom of the narrative body of the social media post.

Other: Group 3 Basic + Paid Partnership Disclosure

Group 4 Basic + Paid Partnership + Image label

EXPERIMENTAL

Disclosure includes the same attributes as Group 3, with the addition of #ad appearing on the post image itself.

Other: Group 4 Basic + Paid Partnership + Image label

Interventions

Group 1 Not an ad disclosure OTHER

Same social media post viewed as all other groups. @brandname in the narrative body of the social media post; #NotAnAd in the narrative body of the social media post

Group 1 Not an Ad Disclosure

Group 2 Basic Disclosure OTHER

Same social media post viewed as all other groups. @brandname in the narrative body of the social media post; #ad in the narrative body of the social media post

Group 2 Basic Disclosure

Group 3 Basic + Paid Partnership Disclosure OTHER

Same social media post viewed as all other groups. COI disclosures include "paid partnership" in the header and a tag for the industry partner; @brandname and #ad immediately at the beginning of the narrative body of the social media post; #ad and #sponsored at the bottom of the narrative body of the social media post.

Group 3 Basic + Paid Partnership Disclosure

Control OTHER

No COI disclosure elements (i.e. no hashtags ). Only the @brandname is included within the narrative body of the social media post.

Control

Group 4 Basic + Paid Partnership + Image label OTHER

Same social media post viewed as all other groups. COI disclosures include "paid partnership" in the header and a tag for the industry partner; @brandname and #ad immediately at the beginning of the narrative body of the social media post; #ad and #sponsored at the bottom of the narrative body of the social media post; #ad (black text, white background) appears on the photo associated with the social media post

Group 4 Basic + Paid Partnership + Image label

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants are included if:
• are ≥18 years
• own a computer,
• have an email address
• speak/write in English/French

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Ontario Institute of Technology: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Oshawa, Ontario, L1G 0C5, Canada

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2024
• First Posted: November 20, 2024
• Study Start: October 28, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 24, 2024
• Study Completion: November 24, 2024
• Last Updated: August 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

CA (1)