Increasing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Uptake Via General Health Messaging

March 26, 2025 updated by: University of California, Los Angeles

Background: Prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts could be achieved by immunization with the prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines commercially available. However, in the U.S. only 38% of females and 14% of males in the recommended age group (9-26 years) receive the complete, three-dose HPV vaccine. Because the HPV vaccine is covered under the Vaccine for Children Program, the underinsured and uninsured have no-cost access. Nonetheless, data from Los Angeles county suggest that HPV vaccination rates among the uninsured and underinsured groups are significantly lower than the national average, likely related to knowledge of the vaccine, transportation, number of doses and concern of side effects.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of health oriented text messaging to increase HPV vaccine uptake versus standard health messaging (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HPV vaccine information flyers).

Hypothesis: The investigators hypothesize that receiving general health messaging, including messages regarding the benefits of the HPV vaccine, will increase HPV vaccine uptake. Text messaging will also be more successful in reaching the uninsured and underinsured populations than will traditional flyers/information pamphlets used in clinics.

Methods: A cluster randomized trial design will be used to recruit participants from four clinics in Los Angeles County which offer pediatric vaccination to uninsured and underinsured children. The sample will include women aged 18-45 years of age. Two of the sites will be randomized to the text messaging arm and the other clinic will be randomized to the control arm (standard messaging: CDC flyers and pamphlets available for patients at the clinic). Outcome measures will be HPV vaccinations rates at those clinics. Rates will be defined into groups who received 1 dose, 2 doses and 3 doses.

Anticipated Results: The investigators expect to find statistically significant higher HPV vaccination rates among children and women in the text messaging study arm compared to the control arm.

Implications and Future Studies: This pilot study will give us preliminary data to submit a larger randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of text messaging.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts could be achieved by immunization with the prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines commercially available. However, in the U.S. only 38% of females and 14% of males in the recommended age group (9-26 years) receive the complete, three-dose HPV vaccine. Because the HPV vaccine is covered under the Vaccine for Children Program, the underinsured and uninsured have no-cost access. Nonetheless, data from Los Angeles county suggest that HPV vaccination rates among the uninsured and underinsured groups are significantly lower than the national average, likely related to knowledge of the vaccine, transportation, number of doses and concern of side effects. The primary objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the efficacy of health oriented text messaging to increase HPV vaccine uptake versus standard health messaging (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HPV vaccine information flyers).

The investigators hypothesize HPV vaccine uptake will be improved through the receipt of general health messaging that includes HPV vaccine messages. Such messaging will increase knowledge about HPV vaccine availability, as well as improve the perceptions around HPV vaccination. Text messaging will also be more successful in reaching large population groups than traditional flyers/information pamphlets used in clinics.

First, among our three participating clinics, the investigators convened community advisory boards (CABs) of individuals who are English and Spanish speaking to identify appropriate text messages including content, length of message and frequency of messaging (once a week, every other week). Topics included HPV vaccine messages, contraceptive information on hormonal contraception, long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods, dysmenorrhea, frequent menses, and vaginal discharge. The investigators focused on all topics and specifically messaging of HPV vaccine that are considered neutral and yet compelling. The investigators built upon the feedback obtained from the CAB. Each clinic serves at least 500 uninsured and underinsured children that offer regular HPV vaccination to these children. Of these three clinics, two of the sites will be randomized to the intervention arm (text messaging) and 1 site to have CDC flyers only. The sites currently collect information on all immunization given at their site. The sites will de-identify their vaccine rates for HPV at the end of the study and send us the de-identified data sets for vaccine rates, age (not birth date) and number of nursing/doctor visits made by age group.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
3

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • University of California Los Angeles

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women who are patients at the clinic
  • Age 21+
  • Have a working mobile phone with SMS capability

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Male
  • <21 years of age
  • Do not have a working mobile phone with SMS capability

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Health Messaging via SMS
Clinics randomized to this arm will receive the health messaging via SMS intervention. Flyers and information cards will be made available in all exam rooms and the waiting room, which contain information about the health messaging program. Patients must voluntarily elect to enroll in the program using their mobile device. Patients who enroll will receive a variety of health messages on topics including HPV Vaccine, Cervical Cancer screening, Birth Control options, Menstrual Problems, diet and exercise. Text messages are sent out using a third party interface, Twilio, at a frequency of 2 times each week for a duration of 1 year. These are one-way messages which only allow for texts to be sent to the participant.
Behavioral: Health Messaging via SMS
This intervention aims to provide health education on topics including HPV Vaccination, Cervical Cancer screening, contraceptive methods, menstrual problems, diet and exercise geared towards women with children of vaccination age.
Active Comparator: CDC Pamphlets
The clinic randomized to this control arm will receive standard Center for Disease Control health pamphlets about the HPV Vaccine. Flyers are posted in the clinic waiting room and exam room.
Behavioral: CDC Health Pamphlets
This intervention aims to provide health education on the HPV Vaccination to women with children of vaccination age.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HPV Vaccination Rate
Time Frame: 1 year
In both arms of the study, we will collect data on the number of females aged 9- 26 years who made any visit to the clinic (denominator) and the number of females aged 9-26 vaccinated (numerator). Vaccination rates will be defined into groups who received at least 1 dose, compared to receiving none. We will also examine those receiving at least 2 doses vs 1 vs none.
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Anna-Barbara Moscicki, MD, University of California, Los Angeles

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 25, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 19, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 19, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 28, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 28, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 29, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 26, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 48789

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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