How do readers choose to undergo treatments based on medical articles?

The purpose of this study is to study the reader's cognitive process in reading medical articles and its influence on the decision-making process. Twenty-four participants completed a survey pertaining to 36 medical articles on new treatments with similar text structures and similar titles. Participants rated each article on its level of interest, informativeness, and reliability, and were asked whether they would choose the treatments in the news article. A cognitive decision-making model can be applied to health contexts, in which the reader's subjective ratings on interest, informativeness, and reliability were positively associated with choosing new treatments. The decision-making process path from the perception of informativeness was mediated by the reliability of the news article. Interest was positively linked to informativeness, although it was not directly associated with reliability. This study shows that readers’ subjective ratings on health information can indicate their decision-making. Artifacts in the information that might incite emotions or interest, such as framing, can affect the reader's decision-making process.