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Frontiers in Public Health 2021There is an abundance of evidence that the presentation of unhealthy foods (UHFs) in different media has the power to shape eating habits in children. Compared to this... (Review)
Review
There is an abundance of evidence that the presentation of unhealthy foods (UHFs) in different media has the power to shape eating habits in children. Compared to this rich body of work with regard to the effects of UHF presentations, studies testing the effects of healthy foods (HFs) are less conclusive. In particular, while the persuasive mechanisms behind HF presentations are well-understood, we lack insights about the role of messages factors, that is, how are (and should) HFs (be) presented in order to foster healthy eating habits in children. This paper tackles this research gap by suggesting the Persuasive Strategies Presenting Healthy Foods to Children (PSPHF) typology, classified along three pillars: (a) composition-related characteristics, (b) source-related characteristics, and (c) information-related characteristics. Against the background of the PSPHF typology, we review the available empirical evidence, outline pressing research gaps, and discuss implications for researchers, health promoters, and program planers.
Topics: Child; Diet, Healthy; Feeding Behavior; Food; Habits; Humans; Persuasive Communication
PubMed: 34568250
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.676127 -
Revista Da Escola de Enfermagem Da U S P 2021To build and validate persuasive audiovisual communication content to reduce salt consumption in the diet of people with heart failure.
OBJECTIVE
To build and validate persuasive audiovisual communication content to reduce salt consumption in the diet of people with heart failure.
METHOD
Methodological study, of a technological method, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, in which the stages of pre-production, production and post-production were followed. Content validation was carried out with specialists in the field of health and communication.
RESULTS
Based on the survey of beliefs related to salt reduction, the video contains 42 screens with three minutes and eleven seconds in duration and has animations and motivational arguments with the aim of positively influencing behavioral intention and modeling negative beliefs in positive ones. In content validation, the judges unanimously agreed with the evaluation criteria for the target audience, language, harmony, figures, narration and persuasion strategy. The Content Validity Index was satisfactory with a 97% agreement.
CONCLUSION
Persuasive audiovisual communication was considered valid in terms of content, becoming a tool to enhance the reduction of salt consumption in the care of people with heart failure.
Topics: Heart Failure; Humans; Intention; Persuasive Communication; Sodium Chloride; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34190894
DOI: 10.1590/S1980-220X2020006503751 -
BMC Psychology Mar 2023Body dissatisfaction is a public health issue, however, low awareness of its seriousness, and stigma, may inhibit treatment seeking. The current study evaluated... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Body dissatisfaction is a public health issue, however, low awareness of its seriousness, and stigma, may inhibit treatment seeking. The current study evaluated engagement with videos promoting awareness of body dissatisfaction using a persuasive communication approach.
METHOD
Men (n = 283) and women (n = 290) were randomly allocated to view one of five videos; (1) Narrative, (2) Narrative plus persuasive appeal, (3) Informational, (4) Informational plus persuasive appeal and (5) Persuasive appeal only. Engagement (relevance, interest, and compassion) was examined post-viewing.
RESULTS
Among both men and women, superior engagement ratings (in compassion for women, and relevance and compassion for men) were demonstrated for the persuasive appeal and informational videos relative to narrative approaches.
CONCLUSION
Videos using clear and factual approaches may promote engagement in body image health promotion videos. Further work should be done to examine interest in such videos specific to men.
Topics: Male; Humans; Adult; Female; Body Image; Persuasive Communication; Health Promotion; Narration; Social Stigma
PubMed: 36991488
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01120-7 -
CA: a Cancer Journal For Clinicians 2007Cancer risk perceptions are a key predictor of risk-reduction practices, health behaviors, and processing of cancer information. Nevertheless, patients and the general... (Review)
Review
Cancer risk perceptions are a key predictor of risk-reduction practices, health behaviors, and processing of cancer information. Nevertheless, patients and the general public (as well as health care providers) exhibit a number of errors and biases in the way they think about risk, such that their risk perceptions and decisions deviate greatly from those prescribed by normative decision models and by experts in risk assessment. For example, people are more likely to engage in screening behaviors such as mammography when faced with loss-based messages than gain-framed messages, and they often ignore the base rate of a given disease when assessing their own risk of obtaining this disease. In this article, we review many of the psychological processes that underlie risk perception and discuss how these processes lead to such deviations. Among these processes are difficulties with use of numerical information (innumeracy), cognitive processes (eg, use of time-saving heuristics), motivational factors (eg, loss and regret aversion), and emotion. We conclude with suggestions for future research in the area, as well as implications for improving the elicitation and communication of personal cancer risk.
Topics: Affect; Attitude to Health; Emotions; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Mass Screening; Neoplasms; Perceptual Distortion; Persuasive Communication; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Risk-Taking
PubMed: 17507441
DOI: 10.3322/canjclin.57.3.147 -
Perspectives in Health Information... 2012The manuscript is an evaluative review of the literature pertaining to personal health records (PHRs). The primary focus was on revealing their potential to function as... (Review)
Review
The manuscript is an evaluative review of the literature pertaining to personal health records (PHRs). The primary focus was on revealing their potential to function as persuasive tools and their efficiency in this role. We demonstrated the ways in which PHRs could motivate, influence, and persuade patients in their adoption of target health behaviors associated with disease and medication management. We based this review on the theoretical framework of captology by B. J. Fogg and colleagues (1998) and the York methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). The final sample of studies for review included 22 articles that met eligibility criteria and were retrieved from the SciVerse Scopus database (1999-present). Findings of this review were mixed. Some studies provided evidence that patients found PHRs easy to use and useful. The patients' self-efficacy and motivation in managing health conditions increased as a result of receiving personalized recommendations, guidance, and decision support generated in PHRs. Other studies, however, demonstrated the PHRs' lack of efficiency associated with the target behavior change. We explain the mixed findings by access to an unbalanced pool of study designs as well as the breadth of the applied theoretical framework of captology. We suggest future research in a more targeted direction, for example, focusing on the evidence of the efficiency of reminders as means for motivation, influence, and persuasion.
Topics: Health Records, Personal; Humans; Motivation; Patient Education as Topic; Persuasive Communication; Risk Reduction Behavior
PubMed: 22783154
DOI: No ID Found -
Scientific Reports Mar 2022This study evaluates diabetes self-management mobile health applications available from European app stores with respect to quality, concordance with recommended...
This study evaluates diabetes self-management mobile health applications available from European app stores with respect to quality, concordance with recommended self-management tasks and implementation of persuasive system design principles. The European Play Store and Apple App Store were systematically searched and relevant apps were tested. Two raters independently assessed app quality using the Mobile Application Rating Scale and conducted a content analysis of provided persuasive system design principles and self-management tasks. A total of 2,269 mobile health applications were identified and 120 could be included in the evaluation. The overall quality was rated as moderate M = 3.20 (SD = 0.39, min = 2.31, max = 4.62), with shortcomings in the subcategories of engagement (M = 2.80, SD = 0.67) and information quality (M = 2.26, SD = 0.48). Scientific evidence is available for 8% of the apps. The reviewed apps implemented a median of three persuasive system design principles (range 0-15) and targeted a median of 4.5 (range 1-8) self-management tasks, however, with a lack of information about psychosocial coping strategies. Most available diabetes self-management apps lack a scientific evidence base. Persuasive system design features are underrepresented and may form a promising tool to improve app quality. Furthermore, the interaction of physical and behavioral health should be improved in existing diabetes self-management mobile health applications.
Topics: Diabetes Mellitus; Humans; Mobile Applications; Persuasive Communication; Self-Management; Telemedicine
PubMed: 35256661
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07544-2 -
PloS One 2022What types of public health messages are effective at changing people's beliefs and intentions to practice social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19? We conducted... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
What types of public health messages are effective at changing people's beliefs and intentions to practice social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19? We conducted two randomized experiments in summer 2020 that assigned respondents to read a public health message and then measured their beliefs and behavioral intentions across a wide variety of outcomes. Using both a convenience sample and a pre-registered replication with a nationally representative sample of Americans, we find that a message that reframes not social distancing as recklessness rather than bravery and a message that highlights the need for everyone to take action to protect one another are the most effective at increasing beliefs and intentions related to social distancing. These results provide an evidentiary basis for building effective public health campaigns to increase social distancing during flu pandemics.
Topics: Adult; Altruism; COVID-19; Female; Health Education; Health Promotion; Humans; Male; Persuasive Communication; Physical Distancing; Risk Reduction Behavior; Self Efficacy; Social Values
PubMed: 35320285
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264782 -
JMIR MHealth and UHealth Jan 2021It is unclear why some physical activity (PA) mobile health (mHealth) interventions successfully promote PA whereas others do not. One possible explanation is the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
It is unclear why some physical activity (PA) mobile health (mHealth) interventions successfully promote PA whereas others do not. One possible explanation is the variety in PA mHealth interventions-not only do interventions differ in the selection of persuasive strategies but also the design and implementation of persuasive strategies can vary. However, limited studies have examined the different designs and technical implementations of strategies or explored if they indeed influenced the effectiveness of the intervention.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review sets out to explore the different technical implementations and design characteristics of common and likely most effective persuasive strategies, namely, goal setting, monitoring, reminders, rewards, sharing, and social comparison. Furthermore, this review aims to explore whether previous mHealth studies examined the influence of the different design characteristics and technical operationalizations of common persuasive strategies on the effectiveness of the intervention to persuade the user to engage in PA.
METHODS
An unsystematic snowball and gray literature search was performed to identify the literature that evaluated the persuasive strategies in experimental trials (eg, randomized controlled trial, pre-post test). Studies were included if they targeted adults, if they were (partly) delivered by a mobile system, if they reported PA outcomes, if they used an experimental trial, and when they specifically compared the effect of different designs or implementations of persuasive strategies. The study methods, implementations, and designs of persuasive strategies, and the study results were systematically extracted from the literature by the reviewers.
RESULTS
A total of 29 experimental trials were identified. We found a heterogeneity in how the strategies are being implemented and designed. Moreover, the findings indicated that the implementation and design of the strategy has an influence on the effectiveness of the PA intervention. For instance, the effectiveness of rewarding was shown to vary between types of rewards; rewarding goal achievement seems to be more effective than rewarding each step taken. Furthermore, studies comparing different ways of goal setting suggested that assigning a goal to users might appear to be more effective than letting the user set their own goal, similar to using adaptively tailored goals as opposed to static generic goals. This study further demonstrates that only a few studies have examined the influence of different technical implementations on PA behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
The different implementations and designs of persuasive strategies in mHealth interventions should be critically considered when developing such interventions and before drawing conclusions on the effectiveness of the strategy as a whole. Future efforts are needed to examine which implementations and designs are most effective to improve the translation of theory-based persuasive strategies into practical delivery forms.
Topics: Adult; Exercise; Exercise Therapy; Humans; Motivation; Persuasive Communication; Telemedicine
PubMed: 33459598
DOI: 10.2196/16282 -
PloS One 2023Existing task-oriented virtual agents can assist users with simple tasks like ticket booking, hotel reservations, etc. effectively and with high confidence. These...
PURPOSE
Existing task-oriented virtual agents can assist users with simple tasks like ticket booking, hotel reservations, etc. effectively and with high confidence. These virtual assistants, however, assume specific, predictable end-user behavior, such as predefined/servable objectives, which results in conversation failures in challenging situations, such as when goals are unavailable.
METHODOLOGY
Inspired by the practice and its efficacy, we propose an end-to-end framework for task-oriented persuasive dialogue generation that combines pre-training and reinforcement learning for generating context-aware persuasive responses. We utilize four novel rewards to improve consistency and repetitiveness in generated responses. Additionally, a meta-learning strategy has also been utilized to make the model parameters better for domain adaptation. Furthermore, we also curate a personalized persuasive dialogue (PPD) corpus, which contains utterance-level intent, slot, sentiment, and persuasion strategy annotation.
FINDINGS
The obtained results and detailed analysis firmly establish the effectiveness of the proposed persuasive virtual assistant over traditional task-oriented virtual assistants. The proposed framework considerably increases the quality of dialogue generation in terms of consistency and repetitiveness. Additionally, our experiment with a few shot and zero-shot settings proves that our meta-learned model learns to quickly adopt new domains with a few or even zero no. of training epochs. It outperforms the non-meta-learning-based approaches keeping the base model constant.
ORIGINALITY
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first effort to improve a task-oriented virtual agent's persuasiveness and domain adaptation.
Topics: Persuasive Communication; Learning; Reinforcement, Psychology
PubMed: 36602995
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275750 -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Dec 2023In this article we develop the concept of the 'idealised policy patient' to contribute to a better understanding of patient-family activism and the mechanisms through...
In this article we develop the concept of the 'idealised policy patient' to contribute to a better understanding of patient-family activism and the mechanisms through which powerful and persuasive patient narratives are facilitated and mobilised. The context through which we explore the idealised policy patient is the UK debates about the legalisation of mitochondrial donation, which primarily took place between 2011 and 2015. In our example, the idealised policy patient was constructed around a culturally persuasive narrative of patient suffering, where mitochondrial donation was presented as a desirable and ethical solution. We draw on interviews with patient-families and stakeholders, and documentary analysis to identify four dimensions of the idealised policy patient - narrating, curating, enacting and navigating. Narrating describes how the idealised policy patient appears in public and policy spaces, as a culturally available narrative which conveys certain meanings and is designed to invoke an emotional and practical response. Curating identifies the multiple forms of labour and facilitation involved in supporting patient-families in activist activities which strengthen the dominant narrative and its embodiment. Enacting focuses on the work of patient-families themselves in supporting and contributing to the idealised policy patient in a way that enlivens and embodies the specifically curated narrative. Finally, navigating considers how those offering an opposing viewpoint position themselves in relation to the idealised policy patient. To conclude, we argue that medical sociology has often given insufficient scrutiny to how the capacity of patients to leverage their status for political ends is bolstered through alignment with existing powerful groups, particularly in hegemonic campaigns. We encourage future researchers to examine how the idealised policy patient is reproduced and reorientated within different policy contexts.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Narration; Labor, Obstetric; Policy; Persuasive Communication
PubMed: 37871394
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116333