The focus of health promotion is persuasion and behaviour change through the application of principles of marketing communication, strategic communication and mass communication. Health communication literature suggests that these methods are necessary for effective appeal and response to health messages. However, the strategies health promotion campaigns in Nigeria deploy in the message construction processes have been understudied. To understand the construction and deployment of health promotion in health messaging in Nigeria, this paper examines the appeals and response processes in select health promotion messages through purposive and criteria-based selection techniques. A qualitative content analysis approach was adopted in analysing the data from the mass media and other non-mass-mediated contents such as mobile phone text messages. Findings showed that motivation-oriented and commercially styled constructions in the delivery of promotional health messages were predominant in the campaigns. In conclusion, health promotion practitioners engage in producing content that targets preventive behaviour and as well, market health products and services through persuasive models.
Vol. 1, No 2, pp. 156-163.