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Entertainment Communication

Entertainment Communication

In this research area, we study the effects of the intertwining of health communication with entertainment.

Health communication often aims to inform and persuade people, yet one downside of these persuasive attempts is that people may react negatively to health-threatening information by ignoring or downplaying health messages that aim at changing their behavior. This may even cause boomerang effects. We examine how the persuasive effects of health messages can be increased by embedding health communication in entertainment. This may be because people put their defences down more easily when they are being entertained rather than educated. Examples of entertainment media used for health communication are popular television shows, videos, soaps, dance, online games, and books, among others. Entertainment communication also involves using entertainment, for instance theatre, to improve communication with patients with dementia, with the final aim to increase their quality of life and well-being.

Health promotion for low-literate adolescents: effects of a school module on alcohol and tobacco

Low-educated adolescents with learning difficulties drink and smoke more than other adolescents. How can this target group be effectively educated about alcohol and tobacco? In this project, this is studied among 12-15 year old adolescents who follow schools for special education or adolescents at pre-vocational schools who receive special attention. Seven experiments are performed that test various variations of a […]
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Understanding the role of entertainment-education in promoting prosocial behaviour

Entertainment-education as a persuasive strategy to influence health behaviour is gaining in popularity because it is assumed to sidestep several of the disadvantages (e.g., perceived persuasive intent, reactance) that traditional persuasive messages induce. The placement of educational messages in entertainment contexts may serve as a reliable source of health information and is a promising technique for influencing audiences’ knowledge, attitudes, […]
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Theatre in 24-h daily care for people with dementia: Evaluation of the implementation of the Veder Contact Method

In the Netherlands 230.000 people have dementia and this figure will raise in the future up to half a million and more by 2050. A significant proportion of these people will receive care in long-term care institutions. Person-centred care and improvement of communication between caregivers and people with dementia receives an increased attention in the care for the elderly. In […]
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Publications

Alblas, M. C., Mollen, S., Fransen, M. L., & Van den Putte, B. (2021). See the cake and have it too? Investigating the effect of watching a TV cooking show on unhealthy food choices. Physiology & Behavior, 236, 113409.

Alblas, M. C. (2023). Voedselverleidingen op televisie. In hoeverre, voor wie en via welke processen leidt het zien van lekker eten op tv tot ongezond eetgedrag? Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap, 51(4), 387-413.

Alblas, M. C., & Boyland, E. (2023). Advertising: Food and nonalcoholic beverages. In E. Y. Ho, C. L. Bylund, & J. C. M. van Weert (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley.

Alblas, M. C., Mollen, S., Wennekers, A. M., Fransen, M. L., & Van den Putte, B. (2023). Consuming media, consuming food: investigating concurrent TV viewing and eating using a 7-d time use diary survey. Public Health Nutrition, 1-10.

Boyland, E., Maden, M., Coates, A., Masterson, T., Alblas, M. C., & Bruce, A., & Roberts, C. (2023). Food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing in children and adults: A systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Obesity Reviews, 25(1), e13643.

Boersma, P., & Van Weert, J.C.M. (2023). RE-AIM Implementation Framework. In The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication (eds E.Y. Ho, C.L. Bylund, J.C.M. van Weert, I. Basnyat, N. Bol and M. Dean). New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alblas, M. C., Mollen, S., Fransen, M. L., & van den Putte, B. (2020). Food at first sight: Visual attention to palatable food cues on TV and subsequent unhealthy food intake in unsuccessful restrained eaters. Appetite, 147, 104574.

Alblas, M. C., Mollen, S., Fransen, M. L., & van den Putte, B. (2019). Watch what you watch: The effect of exposure to food-related television content on the accessibility of a hedonic eating goal. Appetite, 134, 204-211.

Boersma, P., & Van Weert, J.C.M. (2022). RE-AIM Implementation Framework. In The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication (eds E. Ho, C. Bylund and J. van Weert). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119678816.iehc0945. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ho, E.Y., Bylund, C.L., & J.C.M. van Weert [Editors-in-Chief], Basnyat, I, Bol, N, & Dean, M. [Associate Editors] (2022). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Boersma, P., van Weert, J. C. M., Lissenberg-Witte, B. I., van Meijel, B., & Dröes, R.-M. (2019). Testing the implementation of the Veder contact method: A theatre-based communication method in dementia care. The Gerontologist, 59(4), 780-791.

Boersma, P., Van Weert, J.C.M., Witte, B.I., Van Meijel, B., & Dröes, R. M. Testing the implementation of the Veder Contact Method: A theatre-based communication method in dementia care. The Gerontologist. Advance online publication. doi:10.1093/geront/gnx200

Boersma, P., Van Weert, J.C.M., Van Meijel, B., Van de Ven, P.M., & Dröes, R.M. (2017). Study protocol Implementation of the Veder contact method (VCM) in daily nursing home care for people with dementia: an evaluation based on the RE-AIM framework. Aging & Mental Health, 21, 730-741. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2016.1154015

Van Leeuwen, L., Van Den Putte, B., Renes, R. J., & Leeuwis, C. (2016). Do narrative engagement and recipients’ thoughts explain the impact of an entertainment-education narrative on discouraging binge drinking? Media Psychology, 1–27. doi:10.1080/15213269.2016.1142379

Bol, N., Van Weert, J. C. M., De Haes, J. C. J. M., Loos, E. F., & Smets, E. M. A. (2015). The effect of modality and narration style on recall of online health information: Results from a web-based experiment. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(4), e104. doi:10.2196/jmir.4164

Van Asbeek-Brusse, E. D., Fransen, M. L., & Smit, E. G. (2015). Educational storylines in entertainment television: Audience reactions towards persuasive strategies in medical dramas. Journal of Health Communication, 20(4), 396-405. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2014.965365

Van Asbeek-Brusse, E. D., Fransen, M. L., & Smit, E. G. (2015). The more you say, the less they hear: The effect of disclosure content in narrative persuasion. Journal of Media Psychology, 27(4), 159-169. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000135

Van Dijk, A. M., Van Weert, J. C. M., & Dröes, R. M. (2015). Implementing living room theatre activities in the care for people with dementia on nursing home wards: A process evaluation study. Aging and Mental Health, 19(6), 536-547. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2014.955459

Schouten, B., Vlug-Mahabali, M., Hermanns, S., Spijker, E., & Van Weert, J.C.M. (2014). To be involved or not to be involved? Using entertainment-education in an HIV-prevention program for youngsters. Health Communication, 29(8), 762-772. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2013.781938

Linn, A. J., Van Weert, J. C. M., Smit, E. G., Perry, K., & Van Dijk, L. (2013). 1+1=3? The systematic development of a theoretical and evidence-based tailored multimedia intervention to improve medication adherence. Patient Education and Counseling. 93(3), 381-388. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.009

Schouten, B. C., Linn, A. J., Hermanns, S., & Van Weert, J. C. M. (2013). Using Entertainment-Education in HIV-prevention: A process evaluation of an international HIV prevention program targeting adolescents. In A. Schutte (Ed.), Patient education and management: Practices, challenges and outcomes (pp. 125-138). New York: Nova Science.

Van Weert, J.C.M., Bolle, S., Van Dulmen, S., & Jansen, J. (2013). Older cancer patients’ information and communication needs: What they want is what they get? Patient Education and Counseling, 92(3), 388-397. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.011

Van Weert, J.C.M., Hermanns, S.S.T., Linn, A.J., & Schouten, B.C. (2013). Dance4life: Evaluating a global HIV and AIDS prevention program for youth using the Pre-Im framework for process evaluation. In M. Lemal and J. Merrick (Eds.), Health Risk Communication (pp. 111-126). New York: Nova Science Publishers