Occa Aurora, Stahl Hayley M, Julien-Bell Sarah
Department of Communication, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
Department of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana, Urbana, IL, United States.
JMIR Form Res. 2022 Apr 11;6(4):e28676. doi: 10.2196/28676.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause several types of cancers and genital warts. A vaccine is available to prevent HPV infections, and several efforts have been made to increase HPV education and, eventually, vaccination. Although previous studies have focused on the development of messages to educate children about HPV and the existence of the HPV vaccine, limited research is available on how to help children better communicate with their parents and health care professionals about the HPV vaccination. In addition, limited research is available on the target audience of this study (Italian children).
This manuscript describes a study assessing the feasibility of using an evidence-based animated video and a web-based game to help children (aged 11-12 years) participate in discussions about their health-in particular when such conversations center around the HPV vaccination-and improve several HPV-related outcomes. The study also compares the effects of these 2 educational multimedia materials on children's knowledge and perceptions of HPV prevention.
A mixed methods approach consisting of focus group discussions and an experiment with children (N=35) was used to understand children's experiences with, and perceptions of, the animated video and the game and to measure possible improvements resulting from their interaction with these materials.
Both the animated video and a web-based game increased children's knowledge and positive perceptions about HPV and HPV vaccination. Any single message was not more effective than the others. The children discussed aspects of the features and characters they liked and those that need improvements.
This study shows that both materials were effective for improving children's education about the HPV vaccine and for helping them to feel more comfortable and willing to communicate with their parents and health care professionals about their health. Several elements emerged that will allow further improvements in the design and development of the messages used in this study as well as the creation of future campaigns.
人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）可引发多种癌症和尖锐湿疣。有一种疫苗可预防HPV感染，并且已经做出了多项努力来加强HPV教育，最终推动疫苗接种。尽管先前的研究主要集中在制定向儿童普及HPV及HPV疫苗的宣传内容，但关于如何帮助儿童更好地与父母及医疗保健专业人员就HPV疫苗接种进行沟通的研究却很有限。此外，针对本研究的目标受众（意大利儿童）的研究也很有限。
本论文描述了一项研究，该研究评估了使用基于证据的动画视频和网络游戏来帮助11至12岁儿童参与有关自身健康的讨论（特别是当此类讨论围绕HPV疫苗接种展开时）并改善多项与HPV相关结果的可行性。该研究还比较了这两种教育多媒体材料对儿童HPV预防知识和认知的影响。
采用了一种混合方法，包括焦点小组讨论和对35名儿童进行的实验，以了解儿童对动画视频和游戏的体验及看法，并衡量他们与这些材料互动后可能产生的改善情况。
动画视频和网络游戏都增加了儿童对HPV及HPV疫苗接种的知识和积极认知。任何一条单独的信息并不比其他信息更有效。孩子们讨论了他们喜欢的以及需要改进的功能和角色方面。
本研究表明，这两种材料对于改善儿童对HPV疫苗的教育以及帮助他们在与父母和医疗保健专业人员谈论自身健康时感到更自在和更愿意交流均有效。出现了几个要素，将有助于进一步改进本研究中所使用信息的设计和开发以及未来宣传活动的创建。
