April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Innovating With Diffusion of Innovations: Extending the Theory for Persuasive Message Design
The Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory helps explain why society adopts certain innovations and the rate at which they are adopted. DOI has been studied in many contexts including the health message context and is considered a robust theory, but few efforts have been made to empirically test it. Despite the robust literature that embraces DOI as a lens that helps to explain innovation adoption, leveraging the theory for strategic message design to increase adoption of an innovation is scant at best. In other words, most DOI research focuses on the individual implementing the innovation or the innovation itself (Asrani & Kar, 2022; Burley et al., 2005; Dearing, 2004; Dingfelder & Mandell, 2011).
An extension of Boehm et al. (2022), which examined five DOI constructs together within health messages (Boehm et al., 2022), the current study empirically tested two DOI features, trialability and compatibility, to parse out effects of individual DOI constructs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which compatibility and trialability both alone and together as a persuasive strategy in a health message might affect message perceptions and health intentions. Specifically, the current study examined compatibility, trialability, perceived argument strength, efficacy, and intentions in the health contexts of mental health and sports drinks. These 2 attributes were chosen as they are distinct from each other compared to some of the other attributes as well as potentially simpler to manipulate in a message, with wording like “compatible” and “try”. The health contexts of mental health and sports drinks were chosen as they were considered salient health topics among college students, the current sample (N=320 ). These 2 topics were both implemented in order to avoid a single message error, with the notion that the DOI constructs of compatibility and trialability would function the same across both of these topics.
Participants were exposed to one of eight messages as there were four messages for each of the two topics (mental health and sports drinks). Therefore, the study employed a 2 (trialability) x 2 (compatibility) experimental design that was administered through an online survey.
Results indicated a lack of differences between experimental and control conditions. However, it was predicted that higher perceptions of argument strength will result in higher intentions to engage with a new innovation (use a mental health app or swap out sports drinks with healthier options) compared to lower perceptions of argument strength. This hypothesis was tested using a separate regression for each message category (mental health and sports drinks). The regression predicting intention to engage with using a mental health app was significant R2 = .19, F(1,159)= 37.92, p < .00. The regression predicting intention to engage with swapping out sports drinks for healthier options was also significant R2 = .03, F(1,157)= 4.46, p < .05. The discussion addresses potential explanations for results as well as implications for the use of DOI approaches in designing strategic health messages.
An extension of Boehm et al. (2022), which examined five DOI constructs together within health messages (Boehm et al., 2022), the current study empirically tested two DOI features, trialability and compatibility, to parse out effects of individual DOI constructs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which compatibility and trialability both alone and together as a persuasive strategy in a health message might affect message perceptions and health intentions. Specifically, the current study examined compatibility, trialability, perceived argument strength, efficacy, and intentions in the health contexts of mental health and sports drinks. These 2 attributes were chosen as they are distinct from each other compared to some of the other attributes as well as potentially simpler to manipulate in a message, with wording like “compatible” and “try”. The health contexts of mental health and sports drinks were chosen as they were considered salient health topics among college students, the current sample (N=320 ). These 2 topics were both implemented in order to avoid a single message error, with the notion that the DOI constructs of compatibility and trialability would function the same across both of these topics.
Participants were exposed to one of eight messages as there were four messages for each of the two topics (mental health and sports drinks). Therefore, the study employed a 2 (trialability) x 2 (compatibility) experimental design that was administered through an online survey.
Results indicated a lack of differences between experimental and control conditions. However, it was predicted that higher perceptions of argument strength will result in higher intentions to engage with a new innovation (use a mental health app or swap out sports drinks with healthier options) compared to lower perceptions of argument strength. This hypothesis was tested using a separate regression for each message category (mental health and sports drinks). The regression predicting intention to engage with using a mental health app was significant R2 = .19, F(1,159)= 37.92, p < .00. The regression predicting intention to engage with swapping out sports drinks for healthier options was also significant R2 = .03, F(1,157)= 4.46, p < .05. The discussion addresses potential explanations for results as well as implications for the use of DOI approaches in designing strategic health messages.