Berry, D. C., Michas, I. C., & Bersellini, E. (2003). Communicating information about medication: The benefits of making it personal. Psychology and Health, 18(1), 127-139.

Berry, D.; Michas, I.; Bersellini, E.

2003

Berry, D. C., Michas, I. C., & Bersellini, E. (2003). Communicating information about medication: The benefits of making it personal. Psychology and Health, 18(1), 127-139.

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Two experiments, using a controlled empirical methodology, investigated the effects of presenting information about medicines using a more personalised style of expression. In both studies, members of the general public were given a hypothetical scenario about visiting the doctor, being diagnosed with a particular illness, and being prescribed a medication. They were also given a written explanation about the medicine and were asked to provide ratings on a number of measures, including satisfaction, perceived risk to health, and intention to comply. In Experiment 1 the explanation focused only on possible side effects of the medicine, whereas in Experiment 2 a fuller explanation was provided, which included information about the illness, prescribed drug, its dosage and contraindications as well as its side effects. In both studies, use of a more personalised style resulted in significantly higher ratings of satisfaction and significantly lower ratings of likelihood of side effects occurring and of perceived risk to health. In Experiment 2 it also led to significantly improved recall for the written information.

The main findings from the previous experiment have been replicated, namely that presenting the explanation in a more personalised form resulted in significantly higher ratings of satisfaction with the information, and significantly lower ratings of likelihood of experiencing the side effects and perceived risk to health. Again, there was no significant effect on intention to comply. Interestingly, the benefits of presenting information in a more personalised style was also associated with significantly higher levels of recall for the information. The fact that there was no significant interaction between style of presentation and type of information.

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