Plain Language Formatting of Health Advice Messages and Accessibility and Understanding

Research on persuasion and advice utilization has several implications and best practices for constructing health advice messages. In the randomized clinical trial by Stallwood et al, youth participants were given either plain language COVID-19 health recommendations (PLR) or standard language version recommendations (SLV). The primary result of the study showed there were no significant differences in scores on questions testing understanding between the 2 formats, but participants exposed to the PLR format demonstrated slightly higher scores. Results of the study confirm previous research and recommendations for the effective construction of advice messages. Specifically, participants perceived PLR-formatted messages as more accessible, more satisfying, and having higher usability than the SLV-formatted messages. Finally, the PLR format was perceived by participants to have slightly lower credibility than the SLV format. Herein, we situate these findings within the larger research literature and suggest best practices for creating health advice messages.