People make many decisions that affect their health. Some of these decisions serve them well; other decisions lead to tragic outcomes such as heart attacks and strokes. Despite the existence of information that can help people make better decisions, unfortunate outcomes occur. Health practitioners, government agencies, and other concerned citizens continue to raise important questions about why people ignore information that could improve the quality of their lives. A growing number of social scientists are working to improve health decision-making and related outcomes by conducting rigorous and innovative evaluations of what people know about their health and when they are willing to learn more about it. This research offers new insights on the comparative effectiveness of various existing and new ways to communicate health-related information. It also shows how and when distinct approaches are needed to change the behaviors of particular audiences. This symposium includes insights from the social sciences that demonstrate how to present information in ways that change health-related decisions and improve health-related outcomes.