Eye-tracking assessment of visual attention to alcohol prevention materials among Czech university students

Abstract

Alcohol consumption remains a major public health concern, yet awareness of alcohol-related risks among young adults is often limited. Visually engaging educational materials, such as infographics used in brief interventions, may enhance attention and improve comprehension, but empirical evidence on how such materials are visually processed is scarce. We conducted a laboratory-based eye-tracking experiment with 96 university students, randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a graphical alcohol intervention, a text-based alcohol intervention, or a visually comparable neutral infographic (control group). Eye movements were recorded using a Tobii Eye Tracker 5. Visual attention was assessed using fixation duration and visit duration across predefined areas of interest (AOIs) for the graphical intervention. After exposure, participants completed a short knowledge test assessing immediate understanding of alcohol-related risk information. Participants exposed to the graphical intervention demonstrated clear spatial patterns of visual attention, with significantly greater attention allocated to the upper regions of the infographic, particularly areas containing concise, high-contrast text and anatomical illustrations. Lower regions and peripheral text elements received substantially less attention. Knowledge scores differed significantly across the three study groups. Participants receiving the text-based intervention performed significantly better than the control group, whereas differences involving the graphical intervention were not statistically significant. These findings indicate that eye-tracking can provide valuable insights into how young adults visually engage with alcohol prevention materials. The results highlight the importance of visual design and information placement in shaping attention and suggest that combining eye-tracking with educational outcome measures may support the development of more effective alcohol prevention materials.