IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i18p9485-d631556.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Persuasive Effects of Message Framing and Narrative Format on Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination: A Study on Chinese College Students

Author

Listed:
  • WeiMing Ye

    (HSBC Business School, Peking University, Shenzhen 100871, China)

  • Qian Li

    (Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

  • Shubin Yu

    (HSBC Business School, Peking University, Shenzhen 100871, China)

Abstract

During a public health crisis, the provision and dissemination of health-related information are important for the relevant authorities to keep the public informed. By using different types of message framing, the authorities can effectively guide and persuade people to adopt health-related behaviors (such as vaccination). In this study, a web-based experiment using a 2 × 2 (message framing: gain framing versus loss framing) × (message presentation: narrative versus non-narrative) design was conducted to investigate the effects of different message frames on vaccination promotion. In total, 298 college students were recruited to participate in this study. The results suggest that, for message framing, loss-framed (vs. gain-framed) messages lead to higher intentions to get vaccinated. Furthermore, compared with non-narrative messages, narrative messages are more persuasive in promoting vaccination behavior. However, the interaction effect between gain–loss message framing and narrative framing is not significant. Additionally, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived costs mediate the effect of narrative framing on behavioral intentions. In other words, compared with non-narrative messages, narrative messages lead to higher levels of perceived severity and perceived benefits, and a lower level of perceived costs, which in turn increase intentions to get vaccinated. This paper provides insightful implications for both researchers and practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • WeiMing Ye & Qian Li & Shubin Yu, 2021. "Persuasive Effects of Message Framing and Narrative Format on Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination: A Study on Chinese College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-13, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9485-:d:631556
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9485/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9485/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mehran Shayganfard & Fateme Mahdavi & Mohammad Haghighi & Dena Sadeghi Bahmani & Serge Brand, 2020. "Health Anxiety Predicts Postponing or Cancelling Routine Medical Health Care Appointments among Women in Perinatal Stage during the Covid-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Nicole Scannell & Anthony Villani & Evangeline Mantzioris & Libby Swanepoel, 2020. "Understanding the Self-Perceived Barriers and Enablers toward Adopting a Mediterranean Diet in Australia: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-21, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tomasz Jedynak, 2022. "Does the Formulation of the Decision Problem Affect Retirement?—Framing Effect and Planned Retirement Age," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-30, February.
    2. Nora Satybaldiyeva & Lourdes S. Martinez & Brittany Cooper & Eyal Oren, 2024. "The Association between Message Framing and Intention to Vaccinate Predictive of Hepatitis A Vaccine Uptake," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-12, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mehran Shayganfard & Fateme Mahdavi & Mohammad Haghighi & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Serge Brand, 2021. "Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    2. F. Xavier Medina, 2021. "Mediterranean Diet: The Need for Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-5, May.
    3. Georgina Pujolar & Aida Oliver-Anglès & Ingrid Vargas & María-Luisa Vázquez, 2022. "Changes in Access to Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-31, February.
    4. Tara Zeitoun & Audrey Plante & Catherine M. Sabiston & Mélanie Dieudé & Isabelle Doré, 2023. "The Association between Change in Lifestyle Behaviors and Mental Health Indicators in Immunosuppressed Individuals during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-13, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9485-:d:631556. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.