Sponsor
National cancer institute for transforming cancer knowledge, attitudes and behavior through narrative award number R01CA144052
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
2-2015
Subjects
Communication, Interviewing, Storytelling, Papillomavirus diseases -- Prevention, Cervix uteri -- Tumors -- Prevention, Confidence intervals, Health behavior, Probability theory
Abstract
Increasingly, health communication practitioners are exploring the use of narrative storytelling to convey health information. For this study, a narrative film was produced to provide information about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer prevention. The storyline centered on Lupita, a young woman recently diagnosed with HPV who informs her family about HPV and the availability of the HPV vaccine for her younger sister. The objective was to examine the roles of identification with characters and narrative involvement (made up of three dimensions: involvement, perceived relevance, and immersion) on perceived response efficacy, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility to HPV and behavior (discussing the HPV vaccine with a health care provider). A random sample of 450 European American, Mexican American, and African American women between the ages of 25 to 45 living in the Los Angeles area was surveyed by phone before, two weeks after, and six months after viewing the film. The more relevant women found the narrative to their own lives at two weeks, the higher they perceived the severity of the virus and the perceived response efficacy of the vaccine. Also at two weeks, identifying with characters was positively associated with perceived susceptibility to HPV but negatively associated with perceived severity. At six months, identification with specific characters was significantly associated with perceived threat and behavior. These findings suggest that different aspects of narrative health messages should be manipulated depending on the specific beliefs and behaviors being targeted. Implications for narrative message design are discussed.
Rights
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/10410236.2014.974126
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/14779
Citation Details
Published as: Frank, L. B., Murphy, S. T., Chatterjee, J. S., Moran, M. B., & Baezconde-Garbanati, L. (2015). Telling stories, saving lives: creating narrative health messages. Health communication, 30(2), 154-163.
Description
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Health Communication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Health Communication, 30(2), 154-163.