Education, Immigration and HPV Vaccination: an Informational Randomized Trial

Summary

Counteracting misinformation on childhood vaccines remains a priority for public health in industrialized countries. Previous research showed that misinformation-induced vaccine hesitancy particularly concerns very highly or very lowly educated parents, and, especially in Europe, specific groups of immigrants. Misinformation framing directly targets specific sub-population of parents by exploiting different cognitive biases, and specific concerns based on cultural norms: this project aims at testing the effectiveness of similar framing techniques applied to positive information on the HPV vaccine by conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial in Stockholm, Sweden. It randomizes emotionally and scientifically/statistically framed information addressing the specific concerns reported by previous literature.

Conditions

• Cervical Cancer
• Vulvar Cancer
• Anus Cancer
• Penis Cancer
• Mouse Papilloma
• Head Cancer
• Genital Wart
• Neck Cancer

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Information T1

A4 information sheet on HPV vaccine containing a reminder of the upcoming HPV vaccination, and information on: (i) its safety and efficacy in preventing a number of cancerous diseases, affecting both women and men; (ii) what is HPV and how contagion happens; (iii) the consequences of cervical cancer for women, in terms of invasive medical treatments and temporary or permanent loss of fertility. The information is framed in non-scientific, non-statistical terms and is emotionally charged: the consequences of cervical cancers are portrayed by testimonies of cancer survivors from Sweden.

BEHAVIORAL

Information T2

A4 information sheet on HPV vaccine containing a reminder of the upcoming HPV vaccination, and information on: (i) its safety and efficacy in preventing a number of cancerous diseases, affecting both women and men; (ii) what is HPV and how contagion happens; (iii) the consequences of cervical cancer for women, in terms of invasive medical treatments and temporary or permanent loss of fertility. The information is framed in scientific terms and incidence and mortality statistics are reported. The information is not emotionally charged but rather aseptic.

BEHAVIORAL

Information C

A4 information sheet containing a reminder of the upcoming HPV vaccination, and information on the history and characteristics of the Swedish national vaccination program.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Karolinska Institutet

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lisen A. Dahlström, Ph.D. · Karolinska Institutet

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-04-28

Primary Completion

2022-01-14

Completion

2022-01-14

Countries

• Sweden

Study Locations