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Fulltext When do persuasive messages on vaccine safety steer COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and recommendations? Behavioural insights from a randomised controlled experiment in Malaysia

Hing NYL, Woon YL, Lee YK, Kim HJ, Lothfi NM, Wong E, et al.

BMJ Glob Health, 2022 Jul;7(7).
PMID: 35906015 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009250

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine safety is a primary concern among vaccine-hesitant individuals. We examined how seven persuasive messages with different frames, all focusing on vaccine safety, influenced Malaysians to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, and recommend it to individuals with different health and age profiles; that is, healthy adults, the elderly, and people with pre-existing health conditions.
METHODS: A randomised controlled experiment was conducted from 29 April to 7 June 2021, which coincided with the early phases of the national vaccination programme when vaccine uptake data were largely unavailable. 5784 Malaysians were randomly allocated into 14 experimental arms and exposed to one or two messages that promoted COVID-19 vaccination. Interventional messages were applied alone or in combination and compared against a control message. Outcome measures were assessed as intent to both take the vaccine and recommend it to healthy adults, the elderly, and people with pre-existing health conditions, before and after message exposure. Changes in intent were modelled and we estimated the average marginal effects based on changes in the predicted probability of responding with a positive intent for each of the four outcomes.
RESULTS: We found that persuasive communication via several of the experimented messages improved recommendation intentions to people with pre-existing health conditions, with improvements ranging from 4 to 8 percentage points. In contrast, none of the messages neither significantly improved vaccination intentions, nor recommendations to healthy adults and the elderly. Instead, we found evidence suggestive of backfiring among certain outcomes with messages using negative attribute frames, risky choice frames, and priming descriptive norms.
CONCLUSION: Message frames that briefly communicate verbatim facts and stimulate rational thinking regarding vaccine safety may be ineffective at positively influencing vaccine-hesitant individuals. Messages intended to promote recommendations of novel health interventions to people with pre-existing health conditions should incorporate safety dimensions.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05244356.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
What's on YouTube? A Case Study on Food and Beverage Advertising in Videos Targeted at Children on Social Media

Tan L, Ng SH, Omar A, Karupaiah T

Child Obes, 2018 07;14(5):280-290.
PMID: 29985649 DOI: 10.1089/chi.2018.0037

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy food marketing to children is a key risk factor for childhood obesity. Online video platforms have surpassed television as the primary choice for screen viewing among children but the extent of food marketing through such media is relatively unknown. We aimed to examine food and beverage advertisements (ads) encountered in YouTube videos targeting children in Malaysia.
METHODS: The social media analytics site SocialBlade.com was used to identify the most popular YouTube videos (n = 250) targeting children. Ads encountered while viewing these videos were recorded and analyzed for type of product promoted and ad format (video vs. overlay). Food and beverage ads were further coded based on food category and persuasive marketing techniques used.
RESULTS: In total 187 ads were encountered in sampled videos. Food and beverage ads were the most common at 38% (n=71), among which 56.3% (n = 40) promoted noncore foods. Ads for noncore foods were more commonly delivered as video rather than overlay ads. Among ads promoting noncore foods, the most commonly employed persuasive marketing techniques found were taste appeal (42.3%), uniqueness/novelty (32.4%), the use of animation (22.5%), fun appeal (22.5%), use of promotional characters (15.5%), price (12.7%), and health and nutrition benefits (8.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: Similar to television, unhealthy food ads predominate in content aimed toward children on YouTube. Policies regulating food marketing to children need to be extended to cover online content in line with a rapidly-evolving digital media environment. Service providers of social media can play a part in limiting unhealthy food advertising to children.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication*
Fulltext Models and theories of prescribing decisions: A review and suggested a new model

Murshid MA, Mohaidin Z

Pharm Pract (Granada), 2017 Apr-Jun;15(2):990.
PMID: 28690701 DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2017.02.990

To date, research on the prescribing decisions of physician lacks sound theoretical foundations. In fact, drug prescribing by doctors is a complex phenomenon influenced by various factors. Most of the existing studies in the area of drug prescription explain the process of decision-making by physicians via the exploratory approach rather than theoretical. Therefore, this review is an attempt to suggest a value conceptual model that explains the theoretical linkages existing between marketing efforts, patient and pharmacist and physician decision to prescribe the drugs. The paper follows an inclusive review approach and applies the previous theoretical models of prescribing behaviour to identify the relational factors. More specifically, the report identifies and uses several valuable perspectives such as the 'persuasion theory - elaboration likelihood model', the stimuli-response marketing model', the 'agency theory', the theory of planned behaviour,' and 'social power theory,' in developing an innovative conceptual paradigm. Based on the combination of existing methods and previous models, this paper suggests a new conceptual model of the physician decision-making process. This unique model has the potential for use in further research.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
Fulltext Television advertisement effectiveness in food industry among centennials

Intan Syafinaz Mat Shafie, Yuslina Liza Mohammad Yunus, Nur Izzah Jamil, Aini Hayati Musa

Journal of Academia Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan, 2019;7(101):82-90.
MyJurnal

Television (TV) advertisements have become one of the most powerful marketing tools in attracting their audience to become potential customers. They are widely used among food industry locally and also internationally. This study is conducted to identify the factors that contribute to an effective TV advertisement in food industry among centennials using predictive analysis. The aims of this study are to; 1) Identify significant factors; Attractive Visual, Persuasive Message and Repetition of Advertisement to the Effectiveness of TV advertisements in food industry. 2) Identify the most contribute significant factors; Attractive Visual, Persuasive Message and Repetition of Advertisement to the Effectiveness of TV advertisements in food industry. Thus, it was tested to 300 respondents in Shah Alam area using convenient sampling technique. Preliminary analysis included reliability analysis, checking for the correlation, multiple linear regression requirement and R-Square score. Correlation analysis shows that there was a significant positive linear relationship between attractive visuals, persuasive message and repetition of advertisements towards Effectiveness of TV advertisements in food industry. Among independent variables entered into the model, persuasive message (t=7.474, p-value=0.000

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
Utilization of debate as an educational tool to learn health economics for dental students in Malaysia

Khan SA, Omar H, Babar MG, Toh CG

J Dent Educ, 2012 Dec;76(12):1675-83.
PMID: 23225687

Health economics, a special branch of science applying economic principles to the health delivery system, is a relatively young subdiscipline. The literature is scanty about teaching health economics in the medical and dental fields. Delivery methods of this topic vary from one university to another, with lectures, seminars, and independent learning reported as teaching/learning tools used for the topic. Ideally, debates should foster the development of logical reasoning and communication skills. Health economics in dentistry is taught under the community oral health module that constitutes part of an outcome-based dental curriculum in a private dental school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For this study, the students were divided into two groups: active participants (active debaters) and supporting participants (nonactive debaters). The debate style chosen for this activity was parliamentary style. Active and nonactive debaters' perceptions were evaluated before and after the activity through a structured questionnaire using a five-point rating scale addressing the topic and perceptions about debate as an educational tool. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used as a measure of internal consistency for the questionnaire items. Among a total of eighty-two third-year dental students of two successive cohorts (thirty-eight students and forty-four students), seventy-three completed the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 89 percent. Students' responses to the questionnaire were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance test. Results revealed that the students felt that their interest in debate, knowledge of the topic, and reinforcement of the previous knowledge had improved following participation in the debate. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that debate was a useful tool in teaching health economics to dental students.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication*
How IRBs make decisions: should we worry if they disagree?

Kaur S

J Med Ethics, 2013 Apr;39(4):230.
PMID: 23077337 DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2012-100965
Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication*
Fulltext Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: findings from the international tobacco control southeast Asia project

Zawahir S, Omar M, Awang R, Yong HH, Borland R, Sirirassamee B, et al.

Nicotine Tob Res, 2013 Feb;15(2):482-91.
PMID: 22949569 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nts161

Finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty in quitting. This article examined whether anti smoking messages and education could help to reduce smoking susceptibility among adolescents in two Southeast Asian countries and to explore the possible moderating effect of country and gender.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication*
Fulltext Effects of Robot Facial Characteristics and Gender in Persuasive Human-Robot Interaction

Ghazali AS, Ham J, Barakova EI, Markopoulos P

Front Robot AI, 2018;5:73.
PMID: 33500952 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00073

The growing interest in social robotics makes it relevant to examine the potential of robots as persuasive agents and, more specifically, to examine how robot characteristics influence the way people experience such interactions and comply with the persuasive attempts by robots. The purpose of this research is to identify how the (ostensible) gender and the facial characteristics of a robot influence the extent to which people trust it and the psychological reactance they experience from its persuasive attempts. This paper reports a laboratory study where SociBot™, a robot capable of displaying different faces and dynamic social cues, delivered persuasive messages to participants while playing a game. In-game choice behavior was logged, and trust and reactance toward the advisor were measured using questionnaires. Results show that a robotic advisor with upturned eyebrows and lips (features that people tend to trust more in humans) is more persuasive, evokes more trust, and less psychological reactance compared to one displaying eyebrows pointing down and lips curled downwards at the edges (facial characteristics typically not trusted in humans). Gender of the robot did not affect trust, but participants experienced higher psychological reactance when interacting with a robot of the opposite gender. Remarkably, mediation analysis showed that liking of the robot fully mediates the influence of facial characteristics on trusting beliefs and psychological reactance. Also, psychological reactance was a strong and reliable predictor of trusting beliefs but not of trusting behavior. These results suggest robots that are intended to influence human behavior should be designed to have facial characteristics we trust in humans and could be personalized to have the same gender as the user. Furthermore, personalization and adaptation techniques designed to make people like the robot more may help ensure they will also trust the robot.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
Fulltext Antimicrobial stewardship program in a Malaysian district hospital: First year experience

Sing DY, Boo YL, Mukhlis R, Chin PW, Hoo FK

Pak J Med Sci, 2016 Jul-Aug;32(4):999-1004.
PMID: 27648056

Backgrounds & Objective: Antimicrobial resistance is an alarming public health threat that requires urgent global solution. Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is an essential practice element for healthcare institutions in gate-keeping judicious antimicrobial use. This study highlighted the development, first year experience, and result of the implementation of ASP utilizing persuasive and restrictive approaches in a Malaysian district hospital.
Methods: An observational study was conducted between January 2015 to December 2015 on implementation of ASP among hospitalized inpatients age 12 years old and above.
Results: Recommendations were provided for 60% of cases (110 patients) with the average acceptance rate of 83.33%. Majority of the interventions were to stop the antimicrobial therapy (30.3%), and the most common audited antimicrobials was Piperacillin/Tazobactam (25.5%), followed by Meropenem (11.82%), Amoxicillin/Clavulanate and Vancomycin (8.18%) respectively. The concordance rate towards authorization policy was increased in 2015 (71.59% of cases) as compared before the implementation of ASP in 2014 (60.6% of cases). Restrictive enforcement under ASP had been shown to improve significantly adherence rate towards antimicrobials authorization policy (p-value: 0.004).
Conclusion: ASP was successfully implemented in a district hospital. Future studies on its clinical outcomes are important to evaluate its effectiveness as well as focus on the improvement to the pre-existing strategies and measures.
KEY WORDS: Antimicrobial stewardship, Anti-Infective agents, Drug resistance, Malaysia, Rural hospital

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
Fulltext Smoking beliefs and behavior among youth in Malaysia and Thailand

Parkinson CM, Hammond D, Fong GT, Borland R, Omar M, Sirirassamee B, et al.

Am J Health Behav, 2009 Jul-Aug;33(4):366-75.
PMID: 19182982

To characterize smoking beliefs among Thai and Malaysian youth and to examine associations with gender, antismoking media exposure, and smoking status.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication
Fulltext Gender differences in responses towards anti-smoking messages and policy implementation among future doctors in Malaysia

Yasin SM, Ismail N, Noor NM, Mohd Azman MS, Taib H, Jusop JM, et al.

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(1):303-8.
PMID: 23534742

BACKGROUND: Medical students' views may provide some direction for future policy considerations.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess gender differences in future doctors' receptiveness to currently implemented anti-smoking messages and the effectiveness of those messages.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We administered a questionnaire to all students at a medical university in Malaysia, asking how frequently they noted anti- smoking policies, anti-smoking campaigns, and anti-smoking messages in schools. In addition, the questionnaire investigated most effective methods to convey these messages.

RESULTS: A total of 522 (59.7%) students responded. Students were least likely to approve of total bans on cigarettes and increasing the price of cigarettes, and most likely to approve of bans on use of cigarettes in public places and sales to individuals less than 16 years old. Approval of total bans on cigarettes was more common in female students than in males OR=0.39 (95%CI: 0.18- 0.86). Furthermore, compared to the female students, the male students thought that printed media; OR=2.32 (95%CI: 1.31-4.10), radio; OR=1.93 (95%CI: 1.15-3.22) and the internet; OR=1.96 (95%CI: 1.15-3.33) were very effective at delivering anti-smoking messages.

CONCLUSIONS: Gender differences existed in the future doctors' perception of the effectiveness of anti-smoking initiatives. Taking this gender difference into account may increase the receipt of anti-smoking messages in adolescents.

Matched MeSH terms: Persuasive Communication

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