Objective  To explore the influence of different health communication method on infectious disease-specific health literacy and effective intervention mode in various populations in China.

  Methods  We randomly selected people of 6 population types (urban and rural community residents, urban and rural middle school students, hotel attendants, and construction workers) in districts and counties in Zhejiang, Hubei, and Gansu province between May and July 2015; then we assigned the people of each population type into 5 groups (50 in each group) undertaking an intervention on health literacy via various communication methods, respectively. We conducted questionnaire surveys on infectious disease-specific health literacy before and after the intervention using Infectious Disease-Specific Health Literacy Scale (IDSHL).

  Results  Totally 4 292 people completed the intervention and the surveys. Better effects of interventions via group communication, social media communication, reading pamphlet, and watching video were observed among the construction workers, with the percentages for increment in IDSHL score of 107.88%, 38.03%, 46.43%, and 104.22% after the intervention, respectively. For rural community residents, the effect of the intervention via interpersonal communication was the best, with a 44.01% increase in IDSHL score. The effect of intervention via group communication, social media communication and interpersonal communication was better than that via watching video for urban community residents; the effect of intervention via group communication, social media communication, and reading pamphlet was better than that of watching video for urban middle school students; the effect of intervention via group communication was better than that of other communication methods for hotel attendants; the effect of intervention via group communication and watching videos was better for construction workers; and the effect of intervention via interpersonal communication and new media communication was better for rural middle school students.

  Conclusion  Health communication can significantly improve the level of infectious disease-specific health literacy among various Chinese populations. Social media communication is generally applicable in various populations; while, group communication is more suitable for urban populations and interpersonal communication is suitable for rural populations.