April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: “If you get sick, it’s on you”: Exploring Memorable Moral Messages About COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that student compliance with public health guidelines is a vital concern for universities. Existing theoretical and empirical work suggests that audiences may be receptive when prescribed health behavior aligns with memorable moral messages received from family members or other valued sources. We report the results of a content analysis of 457 memorable moral messages that shaped student responses to public health guidelines. We also examined the sources of these messages and the social contexts in which they were received. Results indicated that messages fell within 10 categories, including formal health guidelines, collective action, and maximizing self potential. Messages were most likely to be received from family members such as parents or grandparents. However, other sources also figured prominently, such as friends and social media. Findings of the two studies suggest that memorable moral messages perform some of the functions anticipated by negotiated morality theory and support recent theorizing about the role of memorable messages in health decision-making. Recommendations for health educators are offered, including framing compliance guidelines as a means of protecting members of the extended university “family.”