Increasing the willingness to participate in organ donation through humorous health communication: (Quasi-) experimental evidence

Effects of Humor in Health Communication: Experimental Evidence for Video Sequences Aiming to Increase the Willingness to Donate Organs

Humor has been proven to provide support when dealing with fear-related aspects of life. Therefore, it might be a useful communication strategy for addressing the need for donated organs. We conducted an experimental study among University students in Germany (n = 236) aged about 25 years (M = 24.60, SD = 5.86) investigating the effects of four video sequences related to organ donation on the willingness to donate organs. Based on random allocation, each study participant received one video sequence. The video sequences were presented by either a prominent or non-prominent speaker and included either humorous or neutrally framed information related to organ donation. An online survey was conducted before and after the intervention. A follow-up to investigate long-term effects was conducted 4–6 weeks later. Overall, the four interventions led to high proportions of self-reported willingness to think about organ donation and talk about it with relatives and friends subsequent to the respective intervention. Appraisals beneficial to organ donation improved significantly only in the non-humorous interventions. It seems to be of little relevance whether the humorous message was communicated by a prominent or non-prominent person. However, future investigations should focus on sample populations with lower education, because they are less likely to possess an organ donor card and more likely to have lower levels of positive attitudes toward organ donation and may, therefore, show different results regarding the effectiveness of humorous interventions.

Humor and Fear-Two Sides of the Same Coin?: Experimental Evidence on Humor Appeals in Health Communication Related to Childhood Vaccination

Until now, health communication has largely failed to debunk fears and caveats related to vaccination. This study aims to investigate the effects of different text types used in health communication in an experimental study design. A neutrally formulated text was compared to a humorous text using the formula of a fairytale. Overall, the study indicates no additional value in using the humorous format as an innovative and target-group-oriented approach to inform readers about scientific evidence related to vaccination. Although the effects of the two text types do not differ, the credibility of the neutrally formulated text was much more likely to be judged as high. This indicates that the perception of credibility is not the only criterion in health communication leading to knowledge gains and changes in health-related attitudes and behaviors.

[What entertainment television can do to convey medical knowledge to students and laypeople-raising awareness of rare diseases]

Menschen mit komplexen und seltenen Erkrankungen haben es in unserem Gesundheitssystem oft schwer. Bis zur Diagnosefindung kann es Jahre dauern und häufig fehlt eine geeignete Therapie. Dabei sind seltene Erkrankungen in der Summe der Patienten alles andere als selten: Allein in Deutschland sind etwa 4 Mio. Menschen betroffen. Dennoch gilt, dass eine seltene Erkrankung oft erst dann entdeckt werden kann, wenn sie bekannt genug ist und die Bevölkerung für ihre Existenz sensibilisiert ist – dies gilt sowohl für Laien als auch die Ärzteschaft. Die eher ungewöhnliche Form der Wissensvermittlung über das Unterhaltungsfernsehen kann einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Verbreitung von medizinischem Wissen und zur Sensibilisierung für medizinische Themen leisten. In konkreten Fällen kann das Unterhaltungsfernsehen so zur Diagnosefindung bei seltenen Erkrankungen beitragen oder Laien zu lebensrettenden Maßnahmen ermutigen, was in diesem Artikel anhand einiger Fallbeispiele verdeutlicht wird.

Serien und Quizshows erreichen sehr viel mehr Zuschauer als klassische Gesundheitssendungen. Auch im Studierendenunterricht haben sie sich als außergewöhnlich wirksam erwiesen. Da die Erzählform das Mitfiebern und Mitraten in den Mittelpunkt stellt; anstelle des reinen Vermittelns von Fakten werden die medizinischen Themen als Gedächtnisinhalte emotional stärker verankert und leichter erinnerlich. Das Unterhaltungsfernsehen bietet somit einen innovativen Ansatz, um die Gesundheitskompetenz der Bevölkerung zu steigern – ein Potenzial, das in Deutschland noch besser genutzt werden könnte.