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Health Message Outcomes of Humor Appeals: A Systematic Review.

Yam B Limbu¹, Christopher McKinley², Bruce A Huhmann³

¹Department of Marketing, Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University.

Health Communication

|January 5, 2026

Summary

Humor appeals in health communication can improve attitudes and behaviors, but should be used cautiously with specific groups and conditions. They are effective for audiences with low motivation or ability to process messages.

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Area of Science:

Health Communication
Psychology
Public Health

Background:

Prior research on humor appeals in health communication yields inconclusive results.
Understanding the effectiveness and limitations of humor in health messages is crucial for public health campaigns.

Purpose of the Study:

To systematically review and evaluate the usefulness of humor appeals in health communication.
To investigate boundary conditions and intervening processes affecting humor appeal effectiveness.
To synthesize findings on humor's impact on message processing, attitudes, and behaviors.

Main Methods:

A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines.
Analysis of 48 eligible articles comprising 62 experimental studies on humorous message appeals.
Examination of moderating and mediating factors in humor appeal effectiveness.

Main Results:

Humor appeals positively influence attitudinal and behavioral outcomes in health communication.
Caution is advised for specific audiences (youth, parents) and severe/high-risk health conditions.
Fear arousal, anxiety, argument strength, and reactance mediate the effects of humor appeals.
Humor appeals are beneficial for audiences with low motivation or ability to process health messages.
Humor appeals can alleviate emotional distress associated with health conditions or treatments.

Conclusions:

Humor appeals offer advantages for public health message design, particularly for engaging less motivated audiences and reducing health-related anxiety.
Strategic implementation of humor in health communication requires careful consideration of audience, message, and condition characteristics.