Author(s)

Tsuyoshi Okuhara^*, Hirono Ishikawa, Masahumi Okada, Mio Kato, Takahiro Kiuchi

Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Objective: Health materials need to target individuals who resist or are not interested in health behaviors. Attracting the interest of this audience is a crucial aspect of materials’ design. The present study aimed to review the findings of psychological studies on causes of interest and to discuss the applicability of these studies to the design of health materials. Methods: We used the backward and forward snowball method for our literature review. We identified 10 relevant publications as initial sources for snowballing through a systematic search of EBSCOhost (searching PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, ERIC, CINAHL and MEDLINE). Through backward and forward snowballing from these sources, 76 relevant publications were identified. Results: We identified properties and variables relevant to attracting interest and grouped them into four tactics: surprise; question; visualization; emotional appeal. Conclusion: Lessons from psychology gained in the present study may guide future studies and practices for attracting interest in health materials. The four tactics can be used to make health materials more interesting, as an example showed in the present study.

Health Material, Health Education, Attention, Interest, Comprehension, Memory

Okuhara, T. , Ishikawa, H. , Okada, M. , Kato, M. and Kiuchi, T. (2018) How to Attract Interest in Health Materials: Lessons from Psychological Studies. Health, 10, 422-433. doi: 10.4236/health.2018.104034.