Consumer perspectives on videos for promoting participation in population bowel cancer screening

Objective: To investigate consumer perceptions of videos designed to facilitate participation in bowel cancer screening. 

Methods: In an online survey, 487 people eligible for Australia's National Bowel Cancer Screening Program were randomly assigned to view 2–3 of a possible 15 videos explaining and/or promoting participation in bowel cancer screening. They answered open text questions about which aspects of the videos they liked, disliked, and which motivated them to screen. Using content analysis, common consumer preferences and screening motivators were identified. 

Results: Overall, participants liked aspects of videos that were clear, engaging, straightforward, instructional, and highlighted that the screening process was easy to do. Lengthy, unrelatable, or condescending content and a lack of instructions were disliked. Instructions and demonstrations of how to complete the screening test and highlighting the importance and benefits of early detection were identified as motivational content. 

Conclusion: Video intended to educate viewers about and facilitate participation in, bowel cancer screening should include instructions and demonstration of the screening process. They should be clear, engaging, and succinct, highlighting the overall benefits of screening. 

Practical implications: Understanding consumer preferences for the use of promotional screening videos can inform the optimisation of videos to facilitate greater participation in population bowel screening programs.