ASPO Abstracts
Questions and concerns about HPV vaccine: A communication experiment
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Objective. We sought to identify effective responses to parents’ questions and concernsabout HPV vaccine.Methods. In 2017-2018, we surveyed a national sample of 1,196 U.S. parents of childrenages 9-17. We recorded brief videos of a pediatrician providing messages that addressed seven HPV vaccinationtopics that commonly elicit questions or concerns (e.g., recommended age). We randomly assigned parents to oneof the message topics; parents then viewed four videos on that topic in a random order and evaluated themessages. Results. Parents were more confident in HPV vaccine when exposed to messages thataddressed lack of knowledge about the vaccine (b=.13, p=.01), included information about cancer prevention(b=.11, p<.001), required a higher reading grade level (b=.02, p=.01), or were longer (b=.03, p<.001).Parents were less confident in HPV vaccine when exposed to messages that expressed urgency (b=-.06, p=.005). Analysesusing HPV vaccine motivation as an outcome showed the same pattern of findings. Conclusion. This paper provides research-tested messages that providers can use to addressparents’ HPV vaccination questions and concerns about seven common topics. Important principles forincreasing message effectiveness are to include information on the benefits of vaccination including cancerprevention and avoid expressing urgency to vaccinate when addressing parent questions or concerns.Additionally, providers may need to be prepared to have longer conversation with parents who express concerns about HPVvaccine, especially safety and side effects.
Keywords: HPV vaccine;Provider communication