Bridging gaps in COVID-19 vaccine knowledge: Effects of multimodal narratives on message elaboration and recall across science literacy levels

Objective: The study examines the effects of message modalities (visual vs. textual) and rhetorical approaches (narrative vs. expository information) on the elaboration and recall of COVID-19 vaccine information among individuals with diverse levels of science literacy. Methods: We recruited 328 U.S. adults who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and measured their message elaboration and information recall following exposure to a comic strip, an infographic, a written story, and a short article pertaining to the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Results: Results indicated no significant difference in levels of message elaboration and information recall among the four treatment groups. However, exposure to narratives mitigated the gap in message elaboration, whereas exposure to visual information reduced the disparity in information recall among individuals with varying levels of science literacy. Conclusion: Narratives can serve as a powerful tool for engaging individuals with lower levels of science literacy, as well as reducing the dependence on scientific knowledge for information processing among those with higher literacy levels. Furthermore, the inclusion of visuals in vaccine messages can augment their effectiveness in fostering shared knowledge among audiences with varying levels of science literacy.