Fit to Persuade: The Role of Source–Appeal Congruence in Cancer Screening Decisions

Despite being preventable and curable, cervical cancer claimed 350,000 lives globally in 2024 due to the low adoption of cervical cancer screening (CCS). An analysis of the institutional context in India revealed a lack of awareness and disempowering sociocultural stigma and norms as two critical barriers. Simultaneously, trustworthy spokespersons emerged as key enablers of CCS adoption. Three incentive-compatible randomized field experiments were conducted to evaluate the fit and effectiveness of message sources (doctors vs. peers) and appeal (“informative,” highlighting the disease's mortality risk, vs. “empowering,” addressing health/CCS-related sociocultural taboos) on CCS adoption. Although doctors and peers drive greater adoption than infographics when delivering informational messages, doctors generate the highest willingness to pay. However, adoption is highest when peers convey empowering messages. The authors also find that doctors and peers reduce the price sensitivity for CCS, a preventive service, relative to infographics. The research underscores the importance of congruence between credible sources and context-specific message appeals in enhancing adoption. Policy makers can prioritize low-cost, context-specific interventions that address sociocultural barriers by using peers as credible messengers. In India alone, this approach could boost adoption by 36.5% and enable 21.94 million more women to undergo CCS.