Perceived Message Effectiveness Measures in Tobacco Education Campaigns: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Perceived message effectiveness (PME) is vital for evaluating persuasive health messages.
• Existing PME measures lack consistent conceptual and methodological characteristics.
• Understanding PME measure variability is crucial for accurate campaign assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and analyze the conceptual and methodological features of PME measures used in tobacco control campaigns.
• To identify inconsistencies in PME measurement across different media formats and geographic regions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 75 tobacco education studies (video, print, audio) from 21 countries.
• Analysis of 126 PME measures involving over 61,000 participants.
• Examination of PME items for focus (message vs. effects perceptions), constructs, referents, and behavior.

Main Results:

• Significant variability exists in PME measures' focus on general message perceptions versus expected effects.
• Inconsistencies were found in the underlying persuasive constructs, use of referents, and behavioral references within PME items.
• PME measures demonstrated heterogeneity across studies, countries, and media types.

Conclusions:

• Current PME measures exhibit considerable heterogeneity, impacting reliability and comparability.
• Recommendations are provided for future research to enhance PME measurement and validation.
• Standardized and validated PME measures are needed for more accurate assessment of persuasive health communication effectiveness.