JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden attributed to cancer-causing HPV call for researchers to address this public health concern through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Despite disparities in HPV-associated cancers in Korean and Vietnamese Americans (KAs, VAs) their vaccination rates remain low. Evidence points to the importance of developing culturally and linguistically congruent interventions to improve HPV vaccination rates. Digital storytelling (DST; a specific form of cultural narrative) shows promise as an effective culture-centric health promotion strategy.

Objective:

Study aims were to assess the preliminary effects of an innovative remotely delivered culturally and linguistically congruent DST intervention consisting of stories of personal lived experiences on KA and VA mothers’ attitudes and intention in vaccinating their children against HPV. We also examined if the association between attitudes and intention differed by child’s sex (boy vs. girl) and by ethnicity (KA vs. KA).

Methods:

Participants were recruited from via multiple outlets (e.g., ethnic minority community organizations, social media, flyers posted in local Asian supermarkets and nail salons). Valid and reliable measures were administered online to collect data pre- and post-intervention. Statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, paired and independent sample t-tests, chi-square, and McNemar’s test were used to describe the distributions of variables and to examine differences between subgroups and changes in key variables over time. We estimated logistic regression models to examine associations between mother’s HPV- and vaccine-related attitudes and vaccination intention, and to explore if the association between attitudes and vaccination intention differed by the target child’s sex or ethnicity.

Results:

In our sample of 50 KA mothers (mean age = 42.8 years; SD = 4.8) and 114 VA mothers (mean age = 41.5 years; SD = 5.4), 36% of KA and 51% of VA mothers reported children receiving free or reduced-price lunch at school. Mother’s attitudes toward HPV and the vaccine (t [163] = 2.49, P = .014) and intention to vaccinate their children improved significantly (2 1 = 18.38, P < .001). The measure of mother’s positive attitudes toward HPV and the vaccine was significantly associated with the higher vaccination intention (OR = 0.246, p < .001), adjusting for background variables (sociodemographic characteristics) and other HPV-related variables (family cancer history, prior HPV education, HPV communication with healthcare providers). Findings did not suggest that child’s sex or ethnicity moderated association between attitudes and vaccination intention.

Conclusions:

This brief intervention using digital stories was feasible and showed preliminary effects on promoting KA and VA mothers’ intention to vaccinate their children against HPV.