Assessing the Impact of an Interactive Exhibit for Cancer Prevention : The Case of Hygée Lab

The Hygée Centre, the Public Health arm of the Cancer Pole CLARA in France, was given the mission to initiate, promote and evaluate cancer prevention actions. One goal is to develop intervention research to alter social representations of cancer, which have been identified as obstacles in the adoption of preventive behaviors.

 

Research Objectives

 

The primary tool to accomplish this mission is Hygée Lab, a new interactive exhibit opened in 2014 that features validated scientific information on the state of knowledge in cancer: epidemiology, risk and protective factors as well as the latest news about treatment and research.  The exhibit consists of 17 interactive modules, some in the form of games, others in quizzes, and others offering short video testimonials from researchers, typical patients, or members of the public. 

 

The objective of this research is to determine whether and how the visit of such an exhibit alters the public’s representations of cancer and increases health literacy. Several audiences are targeted: middle and high school students, businesses, the general public as well as at-risk audiences (a series of interventions is specifically developed for Ateliers Santé Ville, a segment of the urban population with low socio-economic status at high risk for cancer).

 

Method

 

The impact of the visit is evaluated on the basis of questionnaires completed before and after the visit. Developed from scientific literature, the questionnaire assesses representations of cancer, health knowledge, as well as general reactions to the exhibit. Survey data will be correlated with data on the visitors’ trajectory in the exhibit recorded directly from electronic badges (RFID data).

 

Results

 

As of October 2014, more than 1,500 visitors have already visited the Hygée Lab exhibit and 232 questionnaires have been processed. The data reveal that the exhibit is well-received by the audience, who finds it interesting, interactive, playful, more encouraging than demoralizing, and would recommend to others. Preliminary results are particularly encouraging with the at-risk audience. The tour of the exhibition changes their knowledge of cancer and their understanding of risk and protective factors. The visit is able to correct some misconceptions such as thinking that alcohol does not cause cancer, and to reduce fatalistic attitudes toward cancer.

 

Following this initial testing phase, new assessment tools are being developed to ensure the proper impact on each segment of the audience.  By the time of the conference in May 2015, results will be available for each target audience.   Recommendations about how interactive exhibits such as Hygée Lab may be used for cancer prevention will be offered.