What is Central Route

This chapter discusses how proven health communication theories can be used in electronic games to affect behavior change. After discussing the need for effective health communication and reviewing the current trends in online health-seeking behavior, it argues that games provide a unique opportunity for users to interact with health information, practice health behaviors, and become immersed in meaningful content. Through exploration of the elaboration likelihood model, social cognitive theory, and stages of change theory, this chapter will discuss how games can be used to change perceptions, attitudes, and actions relating to health behaviors. Examples of how these health communication theories have been used in both public health research and games will be given. At the conclusion of this chapter, readers will have an understanding of several health communication theories and the related techniques that can be used to design persuasive games for behavior change.