Properties of a persuasive quit-smoking message based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) from medical students’ perspective: A structured content analysis

Background Smoking is one of the biggest problems of the young generation. Several strategies have helped to reduce smoking among young people. ELM is a theoretical approach that provides guidance on developing messages that meet these needs. In this study, we decided to use the model of mental processing of beliefs as one of the effective approaches in persuasion, to investigate the process of persuasive messages to quit smoking in young people. Method The present study is a qualitative content analysis study that was conducted on 28 students. Structured interviews were used to collect data. Data analysis was done after each interview until data saturation was reached. Findings: 28 students participated in this study. In this study,4 main issues of how to send the message, how to send it to the person, when to deliver the message, and the way/means of delivering the message were found. Out of the 12 extracted sub-classes,8 sub-classes were related to the peripheral path and 4 sub-classes were related to the central path of the model. Conclusion The views of medical students who are related to the future of society's health can be very valuable for smoking cessation.