Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2614321
Jarim Kim
{"title":"The Congruency Effects of Multiple Components of Persuasion: Target Framing, Gain-Loss Framing, and Regulatory Focus.","authors":"Jarim Kim","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2614321","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2614321","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Construal level theory (CLT) explains that people construe realities differentially based on the psychological distance between themselves and the realities. Informed by CLT, this study investigated how congruencies between mental representations of different message and recipient components influence individuals' responses. Specifically, it examined how message target (self vs. others) effects vary depending on the use of gain-loss framing and individuals' regulatory focuses, using an experiment with 800 respondents in the social distancing context. Results indicated that promotion-focused individuals are more likely to find others-targeted messages more effective, interesting, and easy to process, which further affected behavior-related responses. By contrast, the results showed that prevention-focused individuals are more likely to perceive self-targeted messages as easier to process, which also influences their behavior-related responses. This study contributes to the development of target framing theory and expands the current message design literature by revealing the potential mechanisms through which multiple message components interact.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2134-2150"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146003409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2613120
Jonas Schlicht, Thabo van Woudenberg, David J Blok, Bojan Simoski, Moniek Buijzen
{"title":"A Match Made in Language: Examining the Role of Linguistic Similarity in Adolescents' Preference for Persuasive Health Messages in Social Media Contexts.","authors":"Jonas Schlicht, Thabo van Woudenberg, David J Blok, Bojan Simoski, Moniek Buijzen","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613120","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613120","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Engaging adolescents with health topics on social media is notoriously challenging. A common strategy is message personalization, yet most efforts focus on personalizing <i>what</i> is said rather than <i>how</i> it is expressed. This is a missed opportunity, as youth-relevant health communication requires attention to both style and content. Digital communication environments enable such adaptation by making users' linguistic patterns visible and available for personalization. Yet little is known about how adolescents respond to health messages written in a similar linguistic style, or how such similarity is best operationalized. Addressing these gaps, this preregistered study tests whether adolescents prefer social media health messages that are more similar to their linguistic style and identifies which linguistic categories are most effective in eliciting positive responses. Using WhatsApp conversations donated by 191 Dutch adolescents (aged 13-15), we derived linguistic profiles and created Instagram-style health messages varying in linguistic similarity. Participants then evaluated 22 message pairs, each pair manipulating one linguistic category. Multilevel Bayesian analyses yielded inconclusive evidence for effects of linguistic similarity on message preference or personalization, and moderate evidence against effects on perceived effectiveness. Our findings point to potential trade-offs between experimental transparency and similarity strength, yielding important insights for refining future operationalizations. At the same time, adolescents consistently preferred positive and simple-worded messages, which gives general stylistic guidance for more engaging health communication on social media. Further, we discuss implications for AI-based style matching, including the use of algorithmic approaches and large language models.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2109-2121"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145933071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2613115
Narisara Traiboot, Say Young Kim, Krisda Chaemsaithong
{"title":"Framing the Coronavirus Epidemic Through Intertextual Practices: A Comparative Study of Japanese and South Korean Press Reports.","authors":"Narisara Traiboot, Say Young Kim, Krisda Chaemsaithong","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613115","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613115","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study deconstructs the way in which journalists in two lesser-studied contexts framed a major health crisis through the lens of intertextuality. Based on a corpus of English-language newspaper reports from Japan and South Korea from 2020 to 2022, the study explicates the way in which the risks, urgency, and gravity of the COVID-19 crisis are talked into being, amplified, or downplayed through the complex interaction of the quoted and reporter voices. The findings reveal that in both settings, quotations are strategically interwoven to serve four rhetorical functions: reporting facts, distancing, deauthorizing, and providing a personal touch. Despite similar journalistic standards, variation is observed in terms of the types of sources deferred to and the functions the voices opted for. Such differences are attributed to the changing nature of the socio-political factors in the two countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2098-2108"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145951757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2025.2612537
Deion Hawkins, Sharifa Simon-Roberts
{"title":"You Have These Antibodies Waitin' to Pop Off: Black Amplification Rhetorics in Tyler Perry's COVID-19 Vaccine Special.","authors":"Deion Hawkins, Sharifa Simon-Roberts","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2025.2612537","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2025.2612537","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article interrogates <i>COVID-19 Vaccine and the Black Community: A Tyler Perry Special</i>, a health communication program that addressed vaccine hesitancy in the Black community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using critical race theory (CRT) and amplification rhetoric, we, two Black scholars, analyze how the program leveraged culturally resonant storytelling, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and the influence of Tyler Perry to challenge medical mistrust and race-based structural inequities. While acknowledging that the Black experience is not monolithic, the special reframes vaccine hesitancy in the Black community as \"healthy hesitation,\" and centers collective Black experiences to critique historical and contemporary medical racism. Additionally, anchored in Black epistemologies, the special employs platforms like BET and YouTube to connect with audiences in culturally meaningful ways. In turn, this study demonstrates the power of culturally tailored health communication to build trust and offers insights into health communication strategies for members of the Black community. The study also illuminates implications at the intersections of pop culture, race, culture, and health communication.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2088-2097"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145951774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2620497
Jihyun Esther Paik, Hyesun Choung, Qinghua Yang
{"title":"Why People Turn to ChatGPT for Health Information: Extending UTAUT with Healthcare Dissatisfaction and Perceived Credibility.","authors":"Jihyun Esther Paik, Hyesun Choung, Qinghua Yang","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2620497","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2620497","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, have become a convenient source of information. This study proposes and tests a model predicting intentions to use ChatGPT for health information and examines whether significant predictors differ by condition severity. The model included the original predictors of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Guided by channel complementarity theory, which highlights source characteristics in a multisource information-seeking environment, dissatisfaction with human healthcare services and perceived credibility of ChatGPT were added to the model. Performance expectancy, social influence, and perceived credibility predicted attitudes toward using ChatGPT, which in turn predicted usage intentions, while effort expectancy was not significant. Condition severity moderated the effect of dissatisfaction with healthcare services, predicting greater intentions to use ChatGPT for mild conditions but not severe ones. This study extends UTAUT to health information seeking and discusses theoretical and practical implications for generative AI use in healthcare.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2208-2223"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146100140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-02-02DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2618750
Jeong-Woo Jang, Soeun Yang
{"title":"A Two-Wave Study of Avatar Customization and Psychological Benefits in Social Virtual Reality: The Role of Identification.","authors":"Jeong-Woo Jang, Soeun Yang","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2618750","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2618750","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As social virtual reality (social VR) platforms increasingly captivate users worldwide, questions arise about how digitally mediated self-representation affects psychological health. This study investigates how avatar characteristics-specifically perceived avatar appearance similarity and perceived attractiveness-shape users' well-being in social VR, with a focus on the mediating role of avatar identification. Drawing on two-wave longitudinal data collected over a three-month period from 486 VRChat users, the findings reveal that perceived avatar attractiveness was positively associated with users' satisfaction with virtual life through enhanced avatar identification. However, perceived similarity did not exert a significant positive influence. Notably, while identification with attractive avatars supported virtual well-being, avatar attractiveness was also negatively associated with self-acceptance, suggesting a complex relationship between virtual self-presentation and mental health outcomes. These results highlight the critical psychological processes through which virtual identity communication is associated with users' well-being and self-perception. This study calls for greater attention within health communication research to the ways avatar-mediated interactions in emerging digital environments can both support and challenge mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2182-2193"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146105369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2621229
Melissa J Robinson, Elaine S Barry
{"title":"Guided by Routine and Nurturance: How Parent Characteristics Shape Online Infant Health Information Seeking.","authors":"Melissa J Robinson, Elaine S Barry","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2621229","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2621229","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Increasingly, parents are turning to digital and social media for infant health information. Studies have called for more research investigating how parental characteristics influence digital media information seeking because these same characteristics impact approaches to infant caregiving and decision-making. Drawing on the selective exposure self- and affect- management model, the current study investigated how two common characteristics of infant parenting approaches (i.e. routine and nurturance) influenced digital and social media information-seeking behaviors in a cross-sectional survey (<i>N</i> = 124) with mothers of infants 12 months or younger. Key findings revealed that routine orientation positively predicted searching for topics related to naps, sleep training, developmental milestones, and nurturance negatively predicted seeking topics of sleep training, crying, and infant bonding. Further, nuanced differences in how routine orientation and nurturance influence social media behaviors may exist. Being routine-oriented predicted asking questions in chats, posts, and forums on social media. Being high in nurturance predicted reading about other parents' personal experiences and using social media to exchange opinions and experiences with other parents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2224-2232"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146100152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2613222
Yujie Dong
{"title":"Persuasion Through Affirmation or Threat? The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem in Self-Affirmation and Self-Threat Effects in Health Risk Messages.","authors":"Yujie Dong","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613222","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2613222","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Can deliberate self-affirmation and self-threat inductions be effectively employed in health persuasion targeting bystanders or individuals not directly responsible for health risks? Drawing on the self-affirmation theory, this study examines the effectiveness of message-integrated self-affirmation and self-threats in secondhand smoke (SHS) health risk messages among Chinese nonsmokers. An online experiment was conducted, using a 3 (self-integrity strategies: self-affirming vs. self-threatening vs. control group) × 2 (reference points: self-referencing vs. other-referencing) between-subjects factorial design, with self-esteem treated as a continuous moderator. Results showed that both strategies, compared to a control group, elicited greater negative self-appraisal, which in turn increased psychological reactance. Notably, self-affirmation led to stronger anti-SHS behavioral intentions than the control group. While reference points did not moderate the effects, self-esteem emerged as a key moderator: high self-esteem enhanced the persuasive impacts of both strategies, whereas low self-esteem heightened defensive coping and its undesirable influences on behavioral intention. Theoretically, the findings extend self-affirmation theory in health persuasion by identifying self-esteem as a key moderator in self-integrity appeals. Practically, although both self-integrity strategies can enhance message persuasion, self-affirmation appears particularly impactful, and tailoring interventions to recipients' self-esteem may further optimize persuasive outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2122-2133"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145933090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2620496
Hella de Haas, Frank Marcinkowski, Sarah Kohler
{"title":"Rethinking Rationality. Scientists' Perspectives on Health Communication After the COVID-19 Pandemic.","authors":"Hella de Haas, Frank Marcinkowski, Sarah Kohler","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2620496","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2620496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic represented a turning point for many scientists, challenging established motives and attitudes toward public communication and raising new questions about their willingness to communicate publicly. During this time, scientists faced unprecedented scrutiny, leading to both recognition and maltreatment by the media, politicians and the public. This paper examines whether the pandemic experience altered scientists' rationale for engaging in health communication-specifically, whether perceived benefits (e.g. contributing to the public good) still outweigh potential costs (e.g. exposure to hostility). Based on a survey of <i>N</i> = 4,207 researchers at German universities and research institutions, our findings indicate that negative perceptions of how politicians and journalists treated scientists diminished their assessment of public communication as a rational endeavor, leading to decreased willingness to communicate, particularly regarding self-interested motives.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2194-2207"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146085493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health CommunicationPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-02-22DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2026.2615865
Anne Elizabeth Clark White, Richard L Kravitz, Stephen G Henry
{"title":"Deflecting Before Prescribing: Negotiating About Opioids and Chronic Pain in Primary Care.","authors":"Anne Elizabeth Clark White, Richard L Kravitz, Stephen G Henry","doi":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2615865","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10410236.2026.2615865","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, we examine opioid-related treatment negotiations during primary care visits for chronic pain. We video-recorded 86 visits involving established patients on chronic opioids seeing primary care physicians; participants completed post-visit assessments. We used conversation analysis to identify patient requests (direct and indirect) for better pain control, create a taxonomy of eight \"deflection\" practices physicians used to respond before making opioid-related treatment recommendations (gathering information, evaluating pain, quelling, proposing alternative treatment options, empathizing, praising positive behavior change, warning about opioid risks, and discussing the pain contract), and identify seven visit-level physician communication styles (staller, quick-to-decide, positive affirmation, policer, no-stone-left-unturned, forward-focused, and heterogeneous). We used generalized linear mixed models to explore whether deflection frequency or visit style were associated with participant experience. Most patients (96%) used indirect requests to ask for better pain control. On average, physicians produced 67 deflections before articulating treatment recommendations. More total deflections were associated with worse patient and physician visit experience. Specific deflection practices and visit styles were associated with patient and physician visit experience. Physicians do substantial work before making opioid-related treatment recommendations. Attention to negotiation practices may help explain and ultimately identify strategies to reduce unease associated with opioid discussions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12889,"journal":{"name":"Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"2151-2162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13175399/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147270774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}