eprintid: 10137861 rev_number: 20 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/13/78/61 datestamp: 2021-11-09 15:03:47 lastmod: 2022-04-08 08:11:40 status_changed: 2021-11-09 15:03:47 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Perski, O creators_name: Stevens, C creators_name: West, R creators_name: Shahab, L title: Pilot randomised controlled trial of the Risk Acceptance Ladder (RAL) as a tool for targeting health communications ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: D12 divisions: J96 note: © 2021 Perski et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). abstract: BACKGROUND: Improving adherence to self-protective behaviours is a public health priority. We aimed to assess the potential effectiveness and ease of use of an online version of the Risk Acceptance Ladder (RAL) in promoting help-seeking for cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, insufficient physical activity, or low fruit and vegetable consumption. METHODS: 843 UK adults were recruited, of whom 602 engaged in at least one risky behaviour. Those with no immediate plans to change (n = 171) completed a behaviour specific RAL. Participants were randomised to one of two conditions; a short message congruent (on-target, n = 73) or incongruent (off-target, n = 98) with their RAL response. Performance of the RAL was assessed by participants’ ability to select an applicable RAL item and reported ease of use of the RAL. Effectiveness was assessed by whether or not participants clicked a link to receive information about changing their target behaviour. RESULTS: Two thirds (68.9%, 95% CI = 61.8%-75.3%) of participants were able to select an applicable RAL item that corresponded to what they believed would need to change in order to alter their target behaviour, with 64.9% (95% CI = 57.5%-71.7%) reporting that it was easy to select one option. Compared with the off-target group, participants allocated to the on-target group had greater odds of clicking on the link to receive information (31.5% vs 19.4%; OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.01–4.26). CONCLUSION: The Risk Acceptance Ladder may have utility as a tool for tailoring messages to prompt initial steps to engaging in self-protective behaviours. date: 2021 date_type: published publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS) official_url: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259949 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1897774 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259949 lyricists_name: Perski, Olga lyricists_name: Shahab, Lion lyricists_name: West, Robert lyricists_id: OPERS00 lyricists_id: LSHAH80 lyricists_id: RJWES36 actors_name: Perski, Olga actors_id: OPERS00 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: PLoS One volume: 16 number: 11 article_number: e0259949 citation: Perski, O; Stevens, C; West, R; Shahab, L; (2021) Pilot randomised controlled trial of the Risk Acceptance Ladder (RAL) as a tool for targeting health communications. PLoS One , 16 (11) , Article e0259949. 10.1371/journal.pone.0259949 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259949>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137861/3/Perski_Pilot%20randomised%20controlled%20trial%20of%20the%20Risk%20Acceptance%20Ladder%20%28RAL%29%20as%20a%20tool%20for%20targeting%20health%20communications_VoR.pdf