Translating self-persuasion into an adolescent HPV vaccine promotion intervention for parents attending safety-net clinics

Abstract

Objective Self-persuasion is an effective behavior change strategy, but has not been translated for low-income, less educated, uninsured populations attending safety-net clinics or to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. We developed a tablet-based application (in English and Spanish) to elicit parental self-persuasion for adolescent HPV vaccination and evaluated its feasibility in a safety-net population. Methods Parents (N=45) of age-eligible adolescents used the self-persuasion application. Then, during cognitive interviews, staff gathered quantitative and qualitative feedback on the self-persuasion tasks including parental decision stage. Results The self-persuasion tasks were rated as easy to complete and helpful. We identified six question prompts rated as uniformly helpful, not difficult to answer, and generated non-redundant responses from participants. Among the 33 parents with unvaccinated adolescents, 27 (81.8%) reported deciding to get their adolescent vaccinated after completing the self-persuasion tasks. Conclusions The self-persuasion application was feasible and resulted in a change in parents’ decision stage. Future studies can now test the efficacy of the tablet-based application on HPV vaccination. Practice Implications The self-persuasion application facilitates verbalization of reasons for HPV vaccination in low literacy, safety-net settings. This self-administered application has the potential to be more easily incorporated into clinical practice than other patient education approaches.

Parent-Provider Communication of HPV Vaccine Hesitancy

“…24,29 Few interventions have been developed and tested to persuade vaccine hesitant parents. 36,37 More research is needed as Nyhan et al 36 found that images and dramatic narratives were counterproductive causing increased concern about vaccine side effects. Our study offers a framework for understanding the dynamics of patient-provider communication around vaccine hesitancy and hypothesized relationships between these factors and actual vaccine uptake.…”

A retrospective and prospective look at strategies to increase adolescent HPV vaccine uptake in the United States

“…61 Finally, a promising area of eHealth technology for parents in clinics utilizes written educational materials or digital technology to deliver HPV vaccination education and promotion programs. For example, in a clinic feasibility study, parents participated in a self-persuasion tablet-based intervention in which they watched a brief HPV and HPV vaccine educational video and then answered questions which prompted them to generate 3 reasons for vaccinating 62 Sixty percent of those parents (n D 15) still undecided about vaccination after viewing the video shifted to endorsing vaccination after participating in the selfpersuasion tasks.…”

Efficacy of a Media Literacy Intervention for Indoor Tanning Prevention

“…Self-persuasion can be a powerful tool for behavior change because the motivation comes from within the person (Aaronson, 1999). Research on self-persuasion, however, has focused on the effects of self-generated arguments (e.g., Baldwin et al, 2017). Little theory and research has examined the effects of self-generated stories.…”