Health in Knowledge

Measuring the Effectiveness of a Transmedia Strategy for Health Literacy Promotion in Portugal

Abstract

The improvement of health communication strategies is an objective that has assumed high importance in the light of recent health crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and against a background of ever-growing misinformation on health-related issues. Over time, this objective can also establish and maintain high health literacy rates for the general public. In this study, we quantitatively tested the effectiveness of a transmedia storytelling strategy in transmitting health knowledge – one of the sectors of health literacy – through evaluation sessions with participants of different health literacy levels, ages, and education levels in Portugal. This study demonstrated that transmedia strategies significantly improved the transmission of health knowledge compared to conventional multimedia strategies, as evidenced by significant increase in a quantitative pre-test/post-test difference in participants exposed to the transmedia strategy. Our study highlights the potential of transmedia strategies as more effective instruments for enhancing societal health literacy in Portugal and beyond. Among other things, this empowers citizens to adopt better practices and decisions regarding their own health.