Cardiff Researchers secure funding to explore how community members can use WhatsApp to spread prostate cancer risk information
August 2024
A team of researchers from across Cardiff University, led by Dr Sarah Fry (Senior Lecturer, School of Healthcare Sciences), have secured prestigious Cancer Research UK funding for a collaborative project to examine the effectiveness of using WhatsApp as a tool for sharing cancer risk information among peers in the black community.
The team, including colleagues from the College of Biomedical Sciences and the College of Physical Science and Engineering, and three different Schools (School of Healthcare Sciences – Dr Sarah Fry, Dr Nicholas Courtier; School of Medicine – Dr Harriet Quinn-Scoggins; School of Computer Science and Informatics – Dr Shancang Li, Dr Georgios Theodorakopoulos) are also joined by two lay participant co-investigators in the African-Caribbean and Somlai communities in Cardiff.
Background and Overview
Black men have a high risk of prostate cancer, with a 1 in 4 risk of developing the disease and currently have low rates of diagnosis. At a time when finding a way to screen for prostate cancer for men at risk is becoming a growing area of interest, developing a sustainable way of increasing awareness of prostate cancer within these communities is essential for early detection and diagnosis. This pilot project, due to start in September 2024, focuses on testing the feasibility and acceptability of using a peer-led WhatsApp group to improve awareness and potentially increase early detection and diagnosis amongst this group of men. The project will use an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-led WhatsApp group for communicating prostate cancer risk. Working across disciplines has been essential for this work to include expertise on health, health behaviour, and security and trust in smartphone messaging applications.
This research has developed from Dr Sarah Fry’s continued work with communities in Butetown and Grangetown since completion of her PhD; supported by both Community Gateway, a Cardiff University engagement project, and funding from the Future Leaders in Cancer Reseach (FLiCR) initiative. Community Gateway and FLiCR previously supported Sarah in undertaking public involvement work with local communities and community members, several of whom are now co-applicants on this pilot research project, having suggested they would prefer to receive health information from friends in WhatsApp groups.
What the research involves
The research team are interested in understanding the accessibility and acceptability of using peer-led WhatsApp communication as a method of sharing prostate cancer risk information.
In this pilot project the team will set-up a research specific WhatsApp group that will be led by the lay co-applicates who will invite 50 of their peers to take part. Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods will be used to assess accessibility and acceptability. The men will also be provided with a study specific URL for the Prostate Cancer UK Risk Checker, to provide data on uptake of this once provided with the information from peers.
Plans for future work
- Creating a Logic Model: Our findings will inform the development of a logic model outlining effective strategies for using WhatsApp as a cancer risk communication tool.
- Developing a Communication Strategy: The results will guide the creation of a robust communication strategy to enhance public involvement and foster academic collaborations.
- Scaling Up: We aim to secure further research finding to refine and expand research on the use of WhatsApp in this way.
