Engaging parents around vaccine confidence: proceedings from the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable meetings

Abstract

HPV vaccine uptake remains below national goals in the US, driven in part by parental uncertainty about the vaccine fueled by negative stories on social media and other information platforms. To identify opportunities for mobilizing parents to increase HPV vaccination uptake, the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable and Vaccinate Adolescents Against Cancers program convened two national meetings in 2016 at the American Cancer Society. Stakeholders recommended a focus on positive message to parents; cultivating parent champions to use the power of personal storytelling and to distribute these messages; and defining the role of national organizations in supporting parent champions. Stakeholders supported three message themes: HPV vaccination is the norm, HPV vaccination is cancer prevention, and HPV vaccination supports families across generations. Parents’ negative stories about vaccination are especially difficult to counteract with scientific evidence, making the cultivation of pro-vaccine parent champions an especially promising intervention on social media and other information platforms.

Keywords

• human papillomavirus
• hpv vaccine
• cancer