Empowering Vietnamese Americans

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether short videos can help Vietnamese American mothers decide to vaccinate their children against HPV (human papillomavirus). The study will explore: (1) whether different interventions influence mothers' intentions and decisions regarding HPV vaccination for their children; (2) how mothers perceive and engage with the videos; and (3) how many children receive the HPV vaccine after their mothers watch the videos. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) watch four short digital stories about the HPV vaccine created by Vietnamese mothers; or (b) watch four short videos on general teen health topics such as mental health and social media use. Participants will complete brief surveys and their child's HPV vaccination status will be checked two months after the intervention.

This study focuses on increasing HPV vaccination rates among Vietnamese American (VA) youth by engaging their mothers-who are key decision-makers-in culturally relevant video interventions. VA females experience disproportionately high rates of HPV-related cervical cancer and low vaccine uptake. Contributing factors include limited HPV knowledge, low English proficiency, and culturally influenced health beliefs. There is a critical need for tailored, community-driven interventions to address these disparities. Researchers will evaluate two 4-week video-based interventions: a digital storytelling (DST) intervention featuring personal stories created by Vietnamese mothers and a general teen health video series. Each mother will view one 3-minute video per week over four weeks. The study uses a randomized, 2-arm design with 60 VA mothers of unvaccinated children ages 11-14 assigned to one of the two groups. The study draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior and a culture-centric health promotion framework. It aims to measure feasibility, acceptability, and changes in vaccination intention and behavior. Follow-up assessments will occur two months post-intervention to evaluate vaccine uptake. Additionally, a subset of participants will complete interviews to explore engagement and refine future trial design. Data will be collected at baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up using online surveys and secure platforms. To ensure equitable participation, the study incorporates bilingual staff, culturally tailored outreach and community partnerships. Findings will inform future large-scale trials and may help scale culturally grounded HPV prevention strategies for other underserved populations.