Digital Storytelling Intervention to Promote Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Among At-Risk Asian Immigrant Populations: Pilot Intervention Study

Abstract

Background The high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden attributed to cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) calls for researchers to address this public health concern through HPV vaccination. Despite disparities in HPV-associated cancers in Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans, their vaccination rates remain low. Evidence points to the importance of developing culturally and linguistically congruent interventions to improve HPV vaccination rates. Digital storytelling (a specific form of cultural narrative) shows promise as an effective culture-centric health promotion strategy. Objective The aim of this quasi-experimental single-group study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a culturally and linguistically congruent digital storytelling intervention on Korean American and Vietnamese American mothers’ attitudes and intention in vaccinating their children against HPV. We also examined if the association between attitudes and intention differed by their child’s sex (boy vs girl) and by ethnicity (Korean American vs Vietnamese American). Methods Participants were recruited via multiple avenues (eg, ethnic minority community organizations, social media, and flyers posted in local Asian supermarkets and nail salons). Web-based, valid, and reliable measures were administered to collect data preintervention and postintervention. Descriptive statistics, paired and independent sample t tests, the chi-square test, and the McNemar test were used to describe the distributions of variables and to examine the differences between subgroups and changes in key variables over time. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations of mothers’ HPV- and vaccine-related attitudes with vaccination intention and to explore if the association between attitudes and vaccination intention differed by the target children’s sex or ethnicity. Results In our sample of 50 Korean American mothers (mean age 42.8, SD 4.8 years) and 114 Vietnamese American mothers (mean age 41.5, SD 5.4 years), 36% (18/50) of Korean American and 51% (58/114) of Vietnamese American mothers reported that their children received free or reduced-price lunches at school. After the intervention, mothers’ attitudes toward HPV and the vaccine (t163=2.49, P=.01) and intention to vaccinate their children improved significantly (X21=18.38, P<.001). The measure of mothers’ negative attitudes toward HPV and the vaccine was significantly associated with higher vaccination intention (odds ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.14-0.51; P<.001), adjusting for background variables (sociodemographic characteristics) and other HPV-related variables (family cancer history, prior HPV education, and HPV communication with health care providers). Findings did not suggest that a child’s sex or ethnicity moderated the association between attitudes and vaccination intention. Conclusions This remotely delivered intervention using digital stories was feasible and acceptable, and showed preliminary effects on promoting Korean American and Vietnamese American mothers’ intention to vaccinate their children against HPV. Future research that uses a randomized controlled trial design with a larger and more diverse sample and includes children’s vaccination status will help understand the effect of the intervention.