Effects of Prosocial and Hope-Promoting Communication Strategies on COVID-19 Worry and Intentions for Risk-Reducing Behaviors and Vaccination: Experimental Study (Preprint)

• DOI: 10.2196/preprints.41959
• Publication Date: 2022-08-23T14:47:00Z
• Authors: Elizabeth Scharne...; Leo Waterston; Aaron M Scherer; Alistair Thorpe; Angela Fagerlin; Paul K J Han
• Keywords: Worry; Prosocial Behavior; Framing (construction)

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> The COVID-19 pandemic has engendered widespread fear and skepticism about recommended risk-reducing behaviors including vaccination. Health agencies are faced with the need to communicate public in ways that both provide reassurance promote behaviors. Communication strategies prosocial (PS) values hope being widely used; however, existing research on persuasiveness of these offered mixed evidence. There is also very little examining comparative effectiveness PS hope-promoting (HP) strategies. </sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> aim this study evaluate HP messages reassuring motivating risk–reducing <title>METHODS</title> A web-based factorial experiment was conducted which a diverse sample US randomized read adapted information from website produced by state government health department include alternative framing language: PS, HP, or no additional (control). Participants then completed surveys measuring worry intentions for <title>RESULTS</title> unexpectedly higher than control conditions. Intentions did not differ between groups; vaccination were condition, effect mediated worry. <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> It appears communication may be more effective some contexts but paradoxical cost promoting