Motivating compliance behaviors in public health through enhanced sense of control

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Compliance with medical interventions is crucial for the effectiveness of treatment strategies in public health. Approaches to encourage compliance with health interventions vary in both form and methodology. During ordinary times, public health campaigns mainly rely on educational efforts or incentives while in more severe circumstances, governments might take enforcement measures and even penalties for noncompliance. When interventions pose potential risks to personal interests (e.g., health risks of side effects; social risks of exclusion), individuals find it challenging to comply with such medical measures, resulting in negative consequences for both personal healthcare and public welfare. In this paper, we introduce an effective way to promote compliance with such interventions in the area of public health: enhancing sense of control. We explore three specific compliance behaviors: disclosure of personal information, vaccination, and acceptance of water resource reallocation. These behaviors, while beneficial to public health, pose personal risks like privacy breaches and health-related side effects. Through four studies, we demonstrate that the positive effect of sense of control on compliance behaviors with public health interventions is mediated by reducing perceived personal risk of the intervention. Individuals with a higher sense of control perceive lower personal risk of the medical interventions, leading to increased compliance. Additionally, our research identifies a boundary condition that if the interventions pose no harm to personal interests, the effect of sense of control will be attenuated. By concentrating on interventions that could potentially harm personal interests, our study provides deeper insights into the circumstances and reasons behind individuals’ reluctance to comply with public health interventions. The current research sheds light on the psychological processes driving compliance decisions and offers valuable strategies for health professionals and governments to enhance medical adherence.