Stories to Prevent (StoP) HPV Cancers

Despite the availability of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that can prevent over 37,300 HPV-related cancers in the US every year, only 62.6% of girls and boys were up-to-date in 2022. Low-quality provider recommendations and time constraints during clinic visits limit parents' opportunities to discuss and make HPV vaccination decisions. Pre-visit education to parents could complement provider communication to promote HPV vaccination. There is a critical need to identify better communication strategies to increase HPV vaccine uptake, including the use of narrative messaging and existing digital technologies in clinics and at home (electronic health records, patient portal, mobile devices). The Stories to Prevent (StoP) HPV Cancers Study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the association of a narrative communication intervention delivered through digital and mobile technology before clinic visits on HPV vaccine initiation rates. A sample of 200 parents of unvaccinated children ages 9-12 will be randomized to receive our intervention or control (placebo video). Participants will be recruited from general pediatric and family medicine clinics affiliated with Penn State Health. We will also examine the effect of narrative communication on theory-based psychological mediators of HPV vaccine initiation and narrative communication processes, specifically parents' cognitive and emotional reactions.

Inclusion criteria

• Parent/guardian of a 9-12 year old receiving primary care at a Penn State Health clinic
• Their child has not previously received or initiated the HPV vaccine
• Is able to read and understand spoken English or Spanish
• Has a valid email address and access to a mobile phone, table, desktop or laptop computer to engage in the intervention

Exclusion criteria

• Parent of guardian is less than 18 years of age
• Unable to read and understand spoken English or Spanish
• Does not have access to a mobile phone, table, desktop or laptop computer