Improving processing fluency to encourage family health information seeking: The mediating role of communication efficacy

Abstract

Drawing from the metacognitive literature, this experimental study examines how the relative ease of retrieving information (i.e. processing fluency) impacts individuals’ efficacy about engaging in family health discussions and interpersonal information seeking intention across two health topics: family organ donation status and family health history. Participants (N = 609) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Those in the easy retrieval task condition (versus a difficult or no task control), who were asked to recall information regarding two (versus six or zero) family members, reported greater processing fluency. Moreover, those who reported greater fluency also reported higher communication efficacy, and a greater intention to seek out family health information. Practically, this study highlights how metacognitive strategies may be used in healthcare settings to motivate patient information seeking. For example, it may be advantageous to start by collecting information for relatively few diseases/family members and slowly build a family history over time.