The Effects of Mass Media Photographs on Drug-Related Stigma
A Randomized Experiment to Test the Effects of Mass Media Photographs Related to Drug Use
1 other identifier
interventional
3,570
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exposure to drug-related photos used by the media on emotions, stigma towards people who use drugs, and public health services for this population.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Mar 2024
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
March 20, 2024
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
April 8, 2024
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
April 8, 2024
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
December 16, 2024
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
December 19, 2024
CompletedDecember 19, 2024
December 1, 2024
19 days
December 16, 2024
December 16, 2024
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (16)
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Angry)
Rating of feeling angry at the present moment. Item from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating "not at all" and 5 indicating "extremely" their feeling angry at the present moment.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Sympathy)
Rating of feeling sympathy at the present moment. Item from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating "not at all" and 5 indicating "extremely" their feeling sympathy at the present moment.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Disgust)
Rating of feeling disgust at the present moment. Item from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating "not at all" and 5 indicating "extremely" their feeling disgust at the present moment.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Pity)
Rating of feeling pity at the present moment. Item from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating "not at all" and 5 indicating "extremely" their feeling pity at the present moment.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Social Distance Scale (Family)
Rating of willingness to have person with substance use disorder marry into their family. Item from the Social Distance Scale that measures one element of stigma (desire for social distance). Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness to have a person with a substance use disorder marry into the family.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Social Distance Scale (Neighbor)
Rating of willingness to have person with substance use disorder as a neighbor. Item from the Social Distance Scale that measures one element of stigma (desire for social distance). Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness to have a person with a substance use disorder as a neighbor.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Social Distance Scale (Work Closely)
Rating of willingness to have person with substance use disorder work closely with them. Item from the Social Distance Scale that measures one element of stigma (desire for social distance). Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness to have a person with a substance use disorder work closely with them.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Social Distance Scale (close friend)
Rating of willingness to have person with substance use disorder as a close personal friend. Item from the Social Distance Scale that measures one element of stigma (desire for social distance). Measured on 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness to have a person with a substance use disorder as a close personal friend.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Feeling-Thermometer measure of warmth towards people with substance use disorders
Rating of warmth felt toward people with substance use disorder with 0 indicating extremely cold and 100 indicating extremely warm.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Rating of agreement that recovery is possible
Rating of agreement with statement "Recovery from a drug addiction is possible" on a 5-point Likert scale with 1 indicating strongly agree and 5 indicating strongly disagree.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Rating of willingness to have a drug treatment program in their neighborhood
Rating of willingness to have a drug treatment program in their neighborhood with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness. Measured via survey questionnaire.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Rating of willingness to have a syringe exchange program in their neighborhood
Rating of willingness to have a syringe exchange program in their neighborhood with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Rating of willingness to have a safe consumption site in their neighborhood
Participant's rating of willingness to have a safe consumption site in their neighborhood with 1 indicating greater willingness and 5 indicating greater unwillingness.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Number of participants having a family member with a substance use disorder
Personal experience of having a family member with a substance use disorder. Three close-ended response options (Yes, No, Don't know) when asked if the participant has ever had a family member with a substance use disorder.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Number of participants having a close friend with a substance use disorder
Personal experience of having a close friend with a substance use disorder. Three close-ended response options (Yes, No, Don't know) when asked if the participant has ever had a close friend with a substance use disorder.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Number of participants having substance use disorder
Personal experience of having a substance use disorder. Three close-ended response options (Yes; No; Don't Know) when asked if the participant has ever had a substance use disorder. Measured via survey questionnaire.
Immediately post-exposure to photo intervention
Study Arms (9)
No exposure control group
NO INTERVENTIONThis group was not exposed to any drug-related photo.
Photo of person injecting drugs
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a person injecting drugs.
Photo of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responding to an overdose (White)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of EMS responding to a white person who had overdosed.
Photo of EMS responding to an overdose (Black)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of EMS responding to a Black person who had overdosed.
Photo of a person receiving treatment (Jail)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a person receiving methadone treatment in jail.
Photo of a person receiving treatment (Community)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a person receiving methadone treatment in a community setting.
Photo of a person in recovery (White)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a white person in recovery in their workplace.
Photo of a person in recovery (Black)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a Black person in recovery in their workplace.
Photo of a family member of an overdose decedent
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this arm were exposed to a photo of a person who had lost a family member to an overdose.
Interventions
Exposed to a photo of a person injecting drugs
Exposed to a photo of EMS responding to an overdose (White)
Exposed to a photo of EMS responding to an overdose (Black)
Exposed to a photo of a person receiving treatment (Jail)
Exposed to a photo of a person receiving treatment (Community)
Exposed to a photo of a person in recovery (White)
Exposed to a photo of a person in recovery (Black)
Exposed to a photo of a family member of an overdose decedent
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- participant in existing web-based survey panel (NORC's AmeriSpeak)
You may not qualify if:
- not able to complete experiment and survey in English
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Healthlead
- Vital Strategiescollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, United States
Related Publications (1)
Hom JK, Heley K, Bandara S, Kennedy-Hendricks A. The impact of news photographs on drug-related stigma: A randomized message testing experiment in a National Sample of US Adults. Prev Med. 2025 Jun;195:108293. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108293. Epub 2025 Apr 29.
PMID: 40311941DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
December 16, 2024
First Posted
December 19, 2024
Study Start
March 20, 2024
Primary Completion
April 8, 2024
Study Completion
April 8, 2024
Last Updated
December 19, 2024
Record last verified: 2024-12
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share