Communicating breast cancer screening with young women: An experimental test of didactic and narrative messages using video and infographics

Aurora Occa, L. Suzanne Suggs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

63 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world. Mortality from breast cancer can be reduced if the cancer is detected early enough. It is important to find effective communication that encourages early detection of breast cancer. This study aimed to measure differences between narrative and didactic communication on breast cancer awareness, knowledge of appropriate diagnostic exams, attitude toward breast self-exam, and intention to screen for breast cancer through a breast self-exam. It further aimed to test whether any differences in outcomes were associated with the format used to deliver the communication: video or infographic. The effects of the communication strategies were tested using an experimental design with a control group and four experimental groups: narrative video, didactic video, narrative infographic, or didactic infographic. A total of 194 Italian-speaking women ages 18-30 years completed questionnaires before and after exposure. Positive increases were found for all outcome variables after exposure to any communication strategy tested. The didactic message delivered in video format had the most positive effect on awareness and knowledge, whereas the narrative video message had the most positive effect on attitude and intention. For both message types, videos had a more positive influence than infographics when communicating breast cancer information for this audience. This was the first study of message effects of breast cancer communication with Italian-speaking young women. Further research is warranted to understand how to maximize communication strategies so that they are the most effective in influencing behaviors and if these results are consistent with other linguistic populations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Health Communication
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Communication
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Library and Information Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Communicating breast cancer screening with young women: An experimental test of didactic and narrative messages using video and infographics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this