BACKGROUND
Suboptimal adolescent HPV vaccination rates have been attributed to parental perceptions of HPV vaccine. The Internet has been cited as a setting where misinformation and controversy about HPV vaccination have been amplified.
OBJECTIVE
To test message effectiveness in changing parents’ attitudes and behavioral intention toward HPV vaccination.
METHODS
We conducted a message testing experiment online with 25 experimental messages and six control messages. Among 1,713 participants recruited via social media and crowdsourcing sites, 1,043 eligible parents completed pre-test survey questionnaires. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the 31 messages that simulated social media postings and asked to complete post-test survey questionnaires that assessed attitudes toward the vaccine, perceived effectiveness of the viewed message, and behavioral intention to vaccinate their child(ren) against HPV.
RESULTS
Parents in the experiment group increased positive attitudes toward HPV vaccination compared to those in the control group (t=3.03, p=.003), which was associated with increased intention to vaccinate (r=1.14, p=.05). We identified four themes that were relatively effective in increasing behavioral intentions by positively influencing attitudes toward the HPV vaccine (RMSEA=.014, CFI =.91, SRMR=.031). Messages that provided scientific evidence from government-related sources (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and corrected misinformation were effective in forming positive attitudes and credibility toward HPV vaccination.
CONCLUSIONS
Messages countering misinformation and promoting HPV vaccination in social media environments can positively influence parents’ attitudes and behavioral intentions to vaccinate their child(ren) against HPV.
CLINICALTRIAL
NCT03747302