Public Health Communication and Marketing: HPV Vaccine Study

This report details a public health communication and marketing campaign aimed at increasing HPV vaccination rates among Muslim girls aged 11-17 in Richmond, Virginia. The campaign addresses low vaccination rates, influenced by religious beliefs and cultural factors, by conducting formative research involving social mapping, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. Qualitative research will explore awareness of cervical cancer, HPV, and vaccination attitudes, while quantitative research will employ online surveys. The campaign will develop informative pamphlets and engage community leaders, with the goal of increasing HPV vaccination rates by 3% within two years. The study collaborates with the American Cancer Society and uses a multi-pronged approach to address barriers like socio-economic factors and religious beliefs, aiming to promote preventive health behaviors within the target population.

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH
Public Health Communication and Marketing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Recommended Formative Research
According to the situational analysis report, 2% of the total population1 of Virginia
comprises of individuals from the Muslim community. The primary concerns recognized
during the situational analysis were that religious reasons were refraining the population of
Muslim women from getting the HPV vaccine. The community considers the vaccine as non-
essential as their religion instructs not to have multiple partners or relationships before
marriage2. These nuanced socio-cultural factors are influencing the preventive health
behaviour in the Muslim community. Further information regarding the specific population of
female individuals aged between 11-17 years residing in Richmond Area, Virginia, is
required to quantify the objectives and determine predictable results from the study.
The primary research questions associated with this study are:
1) What is the awareness levels regarding cervical cancer among female individuals
from the Muslim community residing in Richmond Area, Virginia?
2) What are the strategies to increase the HPV vaccination among female individuals
from the Muslim community residing in Richmond Area, Virginia?
The study has well-defined long-term objectives, supported by baseline expectations.
The objective of this study is to increase the human papillomavirus vaccine rate by 3%
among Muslim girls aged between 11 to 17 years and residing in Richmond area, Virginia
within two years of campaign/program implementation. However, further information on the
specific population of subjects with the above-specified characteristics is required to
determine the objectives in terms of count of individuals.
The primary aim of the formative research would be to describe the community
attributes relevant to the HPV vaccine and its non-adherence. Communication channels will
be developed to ensure a higher efficacy of strategies and influence behavior change in the

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population. Several qualitative and quantitative approaches will be ensured to evaluate the
practices of the target audience, their attitudes and behavior.
For qualitative formative research approach, social mapping, focus group
discussions3, and in-depth interviews will be conducted with the target audience of females
aged between 11 to 17 years from the Muslim community and residing in the Richmond
Area, Virginia.
To plan focus group discussions, existing groups and networks in the area along with
health care professionals from the Muslim religion will be contacted to help engage a larger
section of the target population. The study is conducted in collaboration with the American
Cancer Society4, and their members will be approached to offer medical expertise on the
matter. Data on contact information will be collected from individuals after they consent to
associate with the research study. Focus group discussions will include health care
professionals from multidisciplinary fields and will be conducted at the end of every month
for eight consecutive months. The participants will be informed of the meetings prior via text
messages. Observations will be made on the issues that refrain the target population from
getting an HPV vaccine and discussions will be ensured on potential strategies to engage
more of the target population.
To recruit participants for the in-depth interview, snowballing sampling technique5
will be used. With the help of this sampling method, the subjects from the focus group
discussions will be approached and will be asked to encourage greater participation from
fellow individuals matching the specified characteristics of the target population. The
interviews will be face-to-face, structured (open-ended for few questions) and audio-
recorded, where the identity of the participants will be kept confidential. Subjects will be
taken written informed consent before the conduct of the interview5. The in-depth interview
will be conducted at regular intervals of four months and will be continued for 16 months.

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The general questions for the in-depth interview would be the following:
a) Do you know about cervical cancer? – Yes/No
b) How did you have knowledge of cervical cancer? – Open-Ended
c) Are you aware of the cause of cervical cancer? – Yes/No, open-ended if yes.
d) Do you have knowledge of the preventive measures for cervical cancer? Yes/No, open-
ended if yes.
e) Do you know about HPV or human papillomavirus named virus? Yes/No
f)Do you know about how the virus spreads to other persons? Yes/No, open-ended if yes.
g) Are you interested in getting vaccinated for HPV? Yes/No
h) Will you recommend the vaccine to your other female friends? Yes/No
i) Do you think your community needs to be more about the HPV vaccine? Yes/No
j) How would you suggest to spread awareness regarding the HPV vaccine in your
community? –Open-Ended
The data from the structured interview will be used to regulate the approach of the programs.
The interviews are expected to provide adequate information required to develop the rest of
the campaign.
To conduct quantitative research, online surveys will be conducted where the participants
will be allowed to answer the questions anonymously.
The campaign would focus on addressing the barriers to HPV vaccination, which includes the
socio-economic status, myths regarding the vaccine, health insurance, availability of the
vaccine, traditions and religious beliefs, accessibility to health care, and lack of awareness in
the community. Pamphlets with crucial information regarding the importance of HPV
vaccination and preventive measures will be developed with the help of members from the
American Cancer Society and will distribute amongst the community members. According to
Shelton et al.2 individuals who frequently attended religious services may opt-out of HPV

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vaccination, and thus, these groups of people need to be addressed properly. Team members
who are from a Muslim background will be taken help to approach such individuals and
ensure their engagement in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews6.
The expected outcome from the campaign and the study, which will continue for two
years, is that the baseline rate of vaccination for the Human papillomavirus will increase by
3% among the targeted population of Muslim girls who are aged between 11 to 17 years.

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References
1. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Muslims - Religion in America:
U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics. [online] Available at:
https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/muslim/
Published 2020. Accessed 20 Apr. 2020.
2. Shelton RC, Snavely AC, De Jesus M, Othus MD, Allen JD. HPV vaccine decision-
making and acceptance: does religion play a role?. Journal of religion and health. 2013
Dec 1;52(4):1120-30. doi: 10.1007/s10943-011-9553-x
3. Levine D, Madsen A, Wright E, Barar RE, Santelli J, Bull S. Formative research on
MySpace: online methods to engage hard-to-reach populations. Journal of health
communication. 2011 Apr 22;16(4):448-54.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2010.546486
4. Cancer.org. Our HPV Vaccination Initiatives | American Cancer Society . [online]
Available at: https://www.cancer.org/health-care-professionals/hpv-vaccination-
information-for-health-professionals/our-hpv-vaccination-initatives.html Published
2020.Accessed 20 Apr. 2020
5. Etikan I, Alkassim R, Abubakar S. Comparision of snowball sampling and sequential
sampling technique. Biometrics and Biostatistics International Journal. 2016;3(1):55. .
DOI: 10.15406/bbij.2015.03.00055
6. Padela A, Gunter K, Killawi A. Meeting the healthcare needs of American Muslims:
Challenges and strategies for healthcare settings. Institute for Social Policy and
Understanding. June. 2011 Jun.
https://www.ispu.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/620_ISPU_Report_Aasim-
Padela_final.pdf