TeenVac.org: A Mobile Web App to Improve Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake for Adolescent Boys

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake remains below the Healthy People 2030 goal of 80% series completion in the United States. Parental concerns about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine remain and may be addressed by digital interventions tailored to their concerns.

A randomized trial was conducted between May 2019 and December 2020, testing a mobile web app (TeenVac.org) for parents and adolescent sons (11-14 years, N = 209) that encouraged HPV vaccination. Parents and adolescent sons were randomized to receive either the TeenVac app or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HPV vaccination pamphlet online. Participants had access to the TeenVac or CDC pamphlet for the 9-month study duration. Adolescent sons' vaccination records were collected from the state vaccine registry at the end of the study.

Intent-to-treat and web usage analyses were conducted. Intent-to-treat analyses found that adolescent sons of parents randomized to the TeenVac app were significantly more likely to complete the HPV vaccination series than those randomized to the CDC pamphlet group (Pearson χ² = 4.00, p = .045, d = 0.27, odds ratio = 1.92). Web usage analysis confirmed that the TeenVac group parents who used the web app were significantly more likely to have sons complete the HPV vaccination series than those in the CDC pamphlet group (logistic z = 1.28, p = .02, odds ratio = 3.61).

The TeenVac app meaningfully impacted HPV vaccine series completion, particularly among parents who used the web app. The results provide further evidence that digital interventions can improve vaccine uptake when focused on parents' and sons' vaccine-related concerns.