Evaluation of graphic messages to promote human papillomavirus vaccination among young adults: A statewide cross-sectional survey

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10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Young adults in the United States 18–26 years of age are eligible for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, yet they rarely attend preventive healthcare visits. In contrast, they have a high prevalence of social media use, which could be leveraged to provide healthcare recommendations. Since graphics attract users, the study's primary objective was to determine the most appealing graphic to promote HPV vaccination to young adults. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Minnesota State Fair. Participants 18–26 years of age completed a 36-item survey including information on demographics, HPV vaccination status, eHealth literacy, and assessed the appeal of 8 Instagram graphic mock-ups promoting HPV vaccination to prevent cancer. The graphics represented 4 categories: 1) infographics; 2) disease photos; 3) young adult cancer patient photos; 4) humorous graphics. A total of 1037 eligible young adults participated in the study. Median age was 22 years. A majority were women (63%), white (82%), educated (79% post-secondary education or greater), or privately insured (85%). Although 61% reported receiving at least one dose of HPV vaccine, only 48% reported receiving all three recommended doses. Participants were slightly more drawn to posts with humorous graphics or infographics than disease or patient photos (pairwise p-values <0.0001). There were small but statistically significant differences in response to graphics by gender, race, HPV vaccination status, and eHealth literacy. In conclusion, graphic types tested in this study showed only small differences in response, suggesting that factors other than graphic type need to be explored to improve appeal of HPV vaccine promotional messaging.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)256-261
Number of pages6
JournalPreventive Medicine Reports
Volume13
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences , grant UL1TR002494 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Funding Information:
The Masonic Cancer Center Women's Health Scholar is sponsored by the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute, and administrated by the University of Minnesota Women's Health Research Program.

Funding Information:
This research was funded by a Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) Driven to Discover State Fair Award administered by the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota and from donations from a grateful patient family administered by the University Medical Foundation.This research was partially funded by a generous patient donation administered through the University of Minnesota Foundation.Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K12HD055887. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, grant UL1TR002494. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Funding Information:
This research was partially funded by a generous patient donation administered through the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Funding Information:
This research was funded by a Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) Driven to Discover State Fair Award administered by the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota and from donations from a grateful patient family administered by the University Medical Foundation .

Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K12HD055887 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019

Keywords

  • Graphics
  • HPV vaccination
  • Health promotion
  • Social media

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