Author Identifier (ORCID)
Natalie A. Strobel: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2962-5704
Daniel R. McAullay: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0651-899X
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection that can lead to HPV-related cancers such as cervical cancer and other cancers such as anal, vaginal, and penile cancer. HPV rarely produces symptoms and cannot be cured or treated; therefore, vaccination is essential to protect against HPV and HPV-related diseases. However, young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter, respectfully, ‘Aboriginal’) people are not receiving their HPV vaccine dose, resulting in missed opportunities to be protected from HPV-related cancers. Health promotion is a critical way to empower people to take ownership over and control their health and is a core function of public health. One way to deliver health promotion is through social media platforms. In recent COVID-19 times, we have seen the effect of social media on public health messaging, both positive and harmful. In particular, Instagram influencers have had a profound impact on pro- and anti-vaccination messages. Aboriginal adolescents aged 13-15 years old have strong engagement with social media platforms. Combining co-created health promotion messages with local ‘micro-Influencers’ is a novel way to improve HPV vaccination rates. The overall aim of this project is to improve the rates of HPV vaccination amongst young Aboriginal people. We will achieve this through: i) co-creation of health promotion messages, ii) developing and delivering a social media campaign and iii) evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign through an interrupted time-series design. We hypothesise that the co-creation of health promotion messages with young Aboriginal people and their families and utilising the skills of micro-Influencers to engage and influence their followers will result in improvements HPV vaccination rates amongst this population.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Volume
14
PubMed ID
41522295
Publication Title
F1000 Research Ltd
Publisher
F1000Research
School
Kurongkurl Katitjin
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Strobel, N. A., Jones, J., Gates, K., Turner, S. L., McKenzie, J. E., & McAullay, D. R. (2025). Improving HPV vaccine rates for Aboriginal young people through a social media campaign: An interrupted time series. F1000Research, 14, 1162. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.168930.1