Short, Animated Storytelling (SAS) for Addiction Stigma Reduction

NCT06705205 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 76457
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 13,397
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Stigma towards people with addiction is a well-documented problem that negatively impacts help-seeking, treatment and recovery. Social contact with people recovering from addiction can promote empathy and reduce stigma, but social contact is difficult to scale. Short, animated storytelling (SAS) is a novel health communication approach that scales easily because it can leapfrog barriers associated with language, culture, literacy and education levels. This study will investigate if a SAS video intervention can be used to reduce stigma, boost optimism and hope, and increasing empathy towards people with addiction. The study will also explore mechanisms of action of SAS interventions, by measuring the contribution of sound design to the effect of the intervention.

Conditions

Social Stigma Towards People With Addiction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Addiction Stigma Scale Score as measured by the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ)

  Participants complete an 18-item shortened version of the validated AQ. The AQ-18 will be scored along a 9-point Likert scale indicating the extent to which participants agree with the item ranging from "not at all" to "very much" with a maximum score of 27 for each 3-item construct. Higher scores indicate greater stigma.

  Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Optimism Scale Score

  Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks

• Change in Attitude Thermometer Score

  Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks

• Change in Levels of Hope using a visual analogue scale (VAS)

  Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks

Study Arms (3)

SAS video full intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view the full SAS video intervention with sound on Day 1.

Other: SAS video

SAS video partial intervention (without sound)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view the partial SAS video intervention without sound on Day 1.

Other: SAS video

Active Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants read written information about addiction prevalence

Interventions

SAS video OTHER

The intervention is a short, animated storytelling video, with soundtrack, aimed at reducing addiction stigma.

Also known as: short animated storytelling video

SAS video full intervention group; SAS video partial intervention (without sound)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 49 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Adults with basic English proficiency between the ages of 18-49

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Stanford University: lead
• Alexander von Humboldt Association: collaborator
• Stanford Center for Digital Health: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Stanford University

Stanford, California, 95305, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Adam M, Klapow M, Greuel M, Seeff M, Rohr JK, Gordon A, Amsalem D, Barnighausen T. Short, Animated Storytelling Video to Reduce Addiction Stigma in 13,500 Participants Across Multiple Countries Through an Online Approach: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 May 5;14:e73382. doi: 10.2196/73382.

  PMID: 40324168 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Maya Adam, MD, PhD

  Stanford University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 22, 2024
• First Posted: November 26, 2024
• Study Start: July 3, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 22, 2025
• Study Completion: August 22, 2025
• Last Updated: September 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR

Locations

US (1)