oa Drie soorten boodschappen in de gezondheidscommunicatie

Three types of messages in health communication. What determines success or failure?

Document designers in the field of mass health communication face great challenges when developing persuasive messages to change people’s behaviour. Theoretical and experimental research, however, has contributed to our knowledge of the determinants of success of persuasive messages. This article discusses the research into three types of messages that may be used in health promotion campaigns: fear appeal messages that try to persuade recipients into healthy behaviour by picturing the horrible things that may happen to them if they do not follow the recommendations; puzzling messages that may encourage people to talk about the topics that are addressed and that may indirectly lead to the intended behavioural changes; and narratives, stories in different formats that may persuade readers into more healthy behaviour by reducing their resistance to attempts to change this behaviour.