JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for COVID-19, including physical distancing, masking, staying home while sick, and avoiding crowded indoor spaces remain critical for limiting the spread of COVID-19.

Objective:

This study tests the effectiveness of using various persuasive appeals (deontological moral frame, empathy, identifiable victim, goal proximity, and reciprocity) at improving intentions to adhere to prevention behaviors.

Methods:

A randomized online experiment using a national sample of Canadian adults was conducted between March 3-6, 2021. Participants indicated their intentions to follow public health guidelines, saw one of six flyers featuring a persuasive appeal or no appeal, then rated their intentions a second time. Known correlates of attitudes toward public health measures were also measured.

Results:

Intentions to adhere to public health measures increased in all appeal conditions. The message featuring an empathy appeal resulted in a greater increase in intentions than the control (no appeal) message. Moreover, the effectiveness of persuasive appeals was moderated by baseline intentions. Deontological, empathy, identifiable victim, and reciprocity appeals improved intentions more than the control message but only for people with lower baseline intentions to adhere to NPIs.

Conclusions:

Public health marketing campaigns aiming to increase adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors could achieve modest gains by employing a range of persuasive appeals. To maximize impact, however, it is important that these campaigns be targeted to the right individuals.