Older and younger adult memory for health appointment information: Implications for automated telephone messaging design

The authors examined how the organization and presentation modality of automated telephone messages influence older and younger adult memory for appointment information. Older and younger adults organized appointment information in similar ways, suggesting that they share a schema for attending appointments (Experiment 1). Older and younger adults' memories for messages improved when these messages were compatible with this schema. Longer messages were remembered less accurately than shorter messages (Experiment 2). Schema-compatible organization and length had similar effects on memory for printed versus spoken messages (Experiment 3). Thus, messages organized in terms of what clients know about appointments may enhance the impact of automated messaging systems on older and younger adults' appointment attendances.