Although these effect sizes are relatively small, they are nonetheless encouraging for the use of narrative in health communication. Even small effect sizes may have a substantive impact on public health when they reach a large number of people due to mass media interventions (Snyder et al., 2004; Valente, 2002).

In light of the importance of perceived similarity for identification, our second hypothesis was that for women in the narrative condition there will be a difference by race/ethnicity when viewing the film such that Mexican American women will (a) be more transported, (b) identify more strongly with the primary characters, and (c) have a stronger emotional response.

his study brought together an interdisciplinary team composed of communication scholars, filmmakers, and medical experts to produce two original films with high production value. Comparing cervical cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intent in a large group of randomly selected women from different racial/ethnic groups both before and after they viewed either the narrative or nonnarrative film allows us to assess whether narratives convey health-related information better than nonnarratives.

Change at the national level is unlikely without the functional equivalent of randomized clinical trials that contrast the relative effectiveness of health information conveyed using a nonnarrative format against the same information conveyed in a fictional narrative that demonstrates that the narrative is superior. Thus, even while researchers acknowledge the growing role of narrative forms of communication in health promotion (Green, 2006; Hinyard & Kreuter, 2007; Kreuter et al., 2007), it is imperative to build a substantive body of research to establish the relative efficacy of narratives in health communication.