TESTING ADVERTISEMENTS TO IMPROVE HPV VACCINE INFORMATION-SEEKING AMONG PARENTS OF 9–20-YEAR-OLD GIRLS IN INDIA

For several years, India has been the leading country in terms of Human papillomavirus (HPV) related illness and deaths in the world (Singh et al., 2023). Despite this, HPV vaccination numbers in the country remain low as does research to understand the cause for these low numbers. This project sought to – 1) identify potential reasons for low vaccination uptake in the country and 2) design culturally-sensitive messages to improve HPV vaccination uptake. As a first step in addressing these project goals, interviews were conducted with 25 parents of girls aged 9-20 in Mumbai, India. Results revealed low utilization of sexual and reproductive healthcare, low willingness to discuss sexual contact with their children, as well as lack of awareness about the HPV vaccine. Overall, there was a positive view of HPV vaccination, however, most participants reported they would first seek information about the vaccine before deciding whether to seek the vaccine for their daughters. Among message sources, physicians, the government, and schools were most trusted while mass media, celebrities, and social media were viewed as the least trusted sources of HPV-related information. Narratives, social norms, and emotional appeal messages were the preferred persuasive appeals for most participants.

Results from this study guided a message testing experiment to study the effect of message appeal and source on information-seeking when mediated by constructs of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model (RISP). No significant effect of source or appeal was found on any moderator and/or information-seeking. However, demographic factors such as gender, age, and education influenced the mediators, information-seeking, and vaccination intention. Furthermore, data about past HPV vaccine information-seeking behavior was collected from parents of vaccinated girls for insights on designing effective campaigns to encourage vaccine information-seeking among parents of unvaccinated girls. Findings from this study pave the way for interventional research to improve HPV vaccine uptake in India and provide insights on addressing the issue of low HPV awareness among parents.