Does Q&A Boost Engagement? Health Messaging Experiments in the U.S. and Ghana

Erika Kirgios, Susan Athey, Angela Duckworth, Dean Karlan, Michael Luca, Katherine Milkman and Molly Offer-Westort

No 21176, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Effective information sharing is critical for the success of organizations and governments. Because information that is easy to access is more likely to be adopted, leaders often minimize friction in information delivery. However, one type of friction may increase engagement: piquing curiosity by posing relevant questions prior to sharing information. To test this, we shared identical information about COVID-19 in either question-and-answer format or via direct statements across two preregistered field experiments in Ghana and Michigan (total N=49,395). Q&A-style communication increased information seeking about directly related topics (e.g., how to wear a mask properly) by 1.0 percentage-point (216%) in Ghana and by 1.1 percentage-points (19%) in Michigan (p’s

JEL-codes: D12 I12 I15 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02
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