Prompting participation in health: Fostering favorable attitudes toward personal health records through message design

•Message composition influences attitudes toward electronic personal health records.•Respondents reported more comfort with using PHRs when agency was assigned to PHRs.•PHRs perceived to be better at protecting patients when agency was assigned to PHRs.•Providers can make strategic choices about wording when discussing PHRs and care.•Attention to linguistic agency can help patients become more proactive.

ObjectivePersonal health records (PHRs) offer many benefits. However, a relatively small amount of individuals take advantage of PHRs. This study examined how message composition influences attitudes toward electronic PHRs.MethodsParticipants (N = 329) were randomly assigned to read one of two fictitious editorials proposing that all patients have PHRs. One version assigned linguistic agency (capacity for action) to PHRs (e.g.,PHRs can guard against long-term health problems) and the other to humans (e.g.,people can guard themselves against long-term health problems).ResultsOne-way analyses of variance revealed significant main effects of agency on perceptions of PHR benefits. Respondents reported feeling more comfortable using PHRs and perceived them as more effective at protecting patients when agency was assigned to PHRs rather than to humans.ConclusionMessages with PHRs as the primary acting agents elicited favorable reactions about PHR use. Patients may be more willing to engage with this technology if the emphasis is put on what PHRs can do for patients.Practice implications: Providers and staff can make strategic choices about wording when discussing PHRs and healthcare. Attention to linguistic agency can help providers better engage patients in discussions about this topic and enable patients to become more proactive.