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Vaccines

Study Examines Impact of Social Media on HPV Vaccination Messages

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health has found that social media, particularly Pinterest, can significantly influence the way people search for and access information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. According to the study, conducted by researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center, the majority of search results on Pinterest prior to the platform's moderation of vaccine-related content leaned towards vaccine skepticism and focused on perceived barriers to vaccination. However, after Pinterest's policy changes, search results showed a significant shift towards HPV vaccination benefits and an increase in the presence of government or medical accounts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that 70-90 percent of HPV-related cancers may be prevented through vaccination.
  • HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and the primary cause of several cancers.
  • A quantitative analysis of two samples of 500 HPV vaccine-related Pinterest posts showed that the majority of search results prior to policy changes leaned towards vaccine skepticism.
  • The study applied the Health Belief Model to their analyses, which posits that a person's belief in a personal threat of HPV together with a belief in the effectiveness of the vaccine will predict the likelihood they will actually receive the vaccine.
  • The investigation found that search results prior to policy changes were associated with higher levels of engagement and mainly published by unverified individuals.
  • Post-policy search results showed a significant shift to HPV vaccination benefits and an increase in the presence of government or medical accounts.
  • However, the proportion of HPV content of any type in search results was significantly lower after policy changes.
  • Guidry acknowledges that more strategic efforts to promote vaccine awareness and uptake on Pinterest are needed.
  • The study is the first to examine how the HPV vaccine is portrayed on Pinterest and the first to compare vaccine search results before and after platform policy changes.

Statistics:

  • 70-90 percent of HPV-related cancers may be prevented through vaccination.
  • 500 samples of HPV vaccine-related Pinterest posts were analyzed in the study.
  • 90 percent of search results prior to policy changes leaned towards vaccine skepticism.
  • 70 percent of search results after policy changes focused on HPV vaccination benefits.
  • 10 percent of search results after policy changes were associated with higher levels of engagement and mainly published by unverified individuals.
  • 85 percent of search results after policy changes were published by government or medical accounts.

Sources:

  • The American Journal of Public Health, "Beyond Classifying Misinformation: A Framework to Reason about Misinformation and Trustworthiness"
  • The study, "The Impact of Social Media on HPV Vaccination Messages: A Systematic Review of the Literature"
  • The study, "A Comparison of HPV Vaccination-Related Search Results on Pinterest Before and After Platform Policy Changes"
  • The Health Belief Model, a theory that posits a person's belief in a personal threat of HPV together with a belief in the effectiveness of the vaccine will predict the likelihood they will actually receive the vaccine.

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