A study aiming to discover a method to increase the willingness of college-age men to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine found that digital storytelling is effective.

“Viewing digital stories significantly increases male college students' positive attitudes toward vaccinations,” said SC&I Associate Professor of Communication Maria Venetis, a co-author of the study. 

Further, Venetis said, the study found the digital stories also increased the unvaccinated men’s belief that their friends and valued others will approve of their being vaccinated; their confidence in getting vaccinated; and their intention to vaccinate against HPV.

“While much HPV vaccine-related outreach focuses on healthcare clinician recommendations,” Venetis said, “our study examines digital storytelling (DST), a specific form of narrative developed using participant engagement, that shows promise as an effective intervention to promote health behaviors to increase men’s awareness and intentions to seek the HPV vaccine. Past research has used DST to improve attitudes about HPV vaccination among college women. No research, to our knowledge, has explored using DST to influence college men’s decisions to vaccinate against HPV.”

College-aged men are among those least likely to be vaccinated against HPV, and yet, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.

The study, “Pilot testing digital stories to influence college men's intentions to vaccinate against HPV” was published in the Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education.

College-aged men are among those least likely to be vaccinated against HPV, and yet, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Roughly 80 million Americans are infected with this virus, and half are young adults aged 15–24 years.

“HPV affects males, too. There is a belief that it is only a relevant vaccination for females, but that isn't correct.  HPV increases males’ risks for oropharyngeal cancer which is a fancy term to describe head and neck squamous cell carcinomas that largely grow on the base of the tongue and tonsils. This type of cancer is more common among older men, actually surpassing HPV-related cervical cancer in women,” Venetis said. “Many male students also do not recognize HPV as a risk factor for genital warts and various other types of cancer such as penile and anal.”

The HPV vaccine is very accessible to college-age men. In the U.S., all individuals aged 18–26 are age-eligible for insurance coverage to receive the HPV vaccine as a “catch-up vaccination.”

“To reach herd immunity against HPV and offer protection to those who have not received the HPV vaccine, 80% of college-aged individuals should complete the HPV vaccine series. It is, therefore, critical to target college-aged men with relevant HPV vaccine information to increase their awareness and perceived need to vaccinate,” Venetis said.

The heightened engagement of these stories can lead to better retention of HPV vaccine information. In addition, digital storytelling interventions can be easily accessed online, making them highly convenient for college students who are typically tech-savvy and spend considerable time on digital platforms. 

To conduct the study, Venetis and her co-authors first created the digital stories by recruiting college-aged men who were vaccinated against HPV and filmed them as they described their vaccination experiences on zoom (they used Zoom because they created the videos during the COVID-19 pandemic). Venetis’ team then tailored that footage into digital narratives.

They then recruited college men who had not been vaccinated. These men completed a pre-intervention survey to access their knowledge of HPV and their attitudes toward the HPV vaccination. After completing the survey, the unvaccinated students watched the zoom videos and then took a similar survey to access how these digital stories changed their views.

The research team’s findings include:

• Digital storytelling interventions hold promise in health promotion, particularly among college students. Often at the forefront of digital media consumption, college students find storytelling formats more engaging than traditional health messages, such as text-based information alone.
• The heightened engagement of these stories can lead to better retention of HPV vaccine information. In addition, digital storytelling interventions can be easily accessed online, making them highly convenient for college students who are typically tech-savvy and spend considerable time on digital platforms. This flexibility allows students to engage with the content at their own pace and revisit the stories as needed, enhancing the retention of information and reinforcing positive attitudes towards HPV vaccination.
• Unlike traditional storytelling, a low-cost digital storytelling intervention could be reproduced and extended as a health promotion tool for other groups or health issues for broader dissemination.

“Efforts to increase male HPV vaccination rates and reduce future cancers, among other health concerns, is a vital health goal,” Venetis said.

Learn more about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website. 

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