Date of Award

7-9-2009

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

First Advisor

Jessica Illuzzi

Abstract

Our objective was to determine if using a video educational tool can influence (1) individual vaccine acceptability (2) parental acceptability, (3) parental views on vaccine mandates, and (4) age of vaccination accepted for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. We conducted a cross-sectional study using bilingual surveys distributed at Brigham and Womens and Massachusetts General Hospital clinics and at the Coalition of Boston Public Health Association from January to March 2007. An initial 32-question survey addressing HPV knowledge, beliefs and vaccine acceptability was completed, followed by an eight-minute video about HPV and the vaccine. An additional 11-question post assessment was then completed. Five questions were extracted from both the pre/post questionnaires to evaluate HPV vaccine acceptability. Out of 256 subjects, 186 (73%) completed the video intervention and pre/post surveys. Of the 186, 66.6% (124) of subjects said they would vaccinate themselves. Individual acceptability increased after the video to 78% (p=.0014). An additional 55.8 % (102/186) of subjects supported making the HPV vaccine required for all children, with 51.1% (95/186) supporting vaccination if it were given at school and 66.7% (124/186) supporting child vaccination if it were free. After the video, this increased to 72.6% (p<.0001), 65.1% (p<.0001) and 86.6% (p<.0001) respectively. Initially, 56.5% (105/186) of subjects would vaccinate their child only if the child were older than 15 years of age; post-intervention, 82.3% of subjects accepted vaccination starting at age 9 and up (p<.0001). Secondary analysis revealed that Hispanic, Blacks and those with combined income less than $50,000 were more likely to not initially accept HPV vaccine for their children but showed high rates of acceptability after intervention. Peoples perception that vaccination will promote sex amongst the young was significant but did not affect overall acceptability. In conclusion, using multi-media as a way to increase knowledge significantly increased individual acceptability, parental acceptability, and age of acceptance of the HPV vaccine.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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