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Positive delivery of health messages more effective among general public

Knowing how an audience thinks can help health care practitioners predict when health messages will gain adherence and compliance among the general public, according to a study published in Nutrition Reviews.

Brian Wansink and Lizzy Pope of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Mathematics at Cornell University said positive, gain-framed messages describing the benefits of a decision may work better than loss-framed messages that tell people they have something to lose.

“To achieve compliance with health- and nutrition-related messages, it is crucial to focus on the important differences between message producers and message audiences and to take those differences into account when deciding when to use gain-framed versus loss-framed messages,” they wrote in the study.

During their analysis of data from 63 nutrition studies, Wansink and Pope identified four key questions health care providers can use to predict which type of health message works best for a target audience:

1. Is there a low (versus high) level of involvement in the issue?

A knowledgeable target audience that is involved in an issue will be more motivated by a negative or loss-based message. However, a target audience that is less involved with an issue may not believe the message or may not want to hear bad news and they most often respond to positive messages.  

2. Is there a high (versus low) certainty of the outcome?

If the audience believes the outcome of a message is certain, they are more apt to believe it, and gain-framed messages are useful for them, according to the researchers.

“Determining an audience’s perception of outcome certainty may be influential in determining the type of health messaging to champion,” they said.

3. Is there a low (versus high) preference for risk?

The researchers found that people avoid risks when they are certain they will receive something positive, and gain-framed messages work best for this audience. Here is an example: “You’ll live 7 years longer if you are a healthy weight.”

Conversely, risk-taking people respond to loss-framed messages. (eg, “You’ll die 7 years earlier if you are obese.”)  

4. Is there a heuristic (versus piecemeal) processing style?

A person’s cognition style may affect their response to a message. People who seek out more information and think big picture have a heuristic cognitive style while those who think in a piecemeal style perceive decisions in a more detailed fashion, according to researchers.

For heuristic thinkers, gain-framed messages work best when health claims appear factual and convincing.  For example, if a target audience believes consuming soy will extend their life by reducing their heart disease risk, a gain-framed message is best. People who think piecemeal respond to more highly cognitive loss-framed messages, according to the study.

“Because most people are not highly involved in health behaviors, gain-framed messages are likely to be the most successful type for encouraging adherence and compliance,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.