Creating Persuasive Health Messages: Consideration of Future Consequences and Intention to Pursue Vaccination Against Human Papillomavirus

Abstract

The present study examined the responses of traditional aged college women to health messages about human papillomavirus (HPV) and the new preventative HPV vaccine, Gardasil. These health messages were temporally framed and it was hypothesized that response (i.e. intention to get vaccinated, information-seeking, and thoughts following the message) would be connected with a woman's level of consideration of future consequences (CFC) and the type of temporal frame to which she was exposed. The possible role of attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control, as defined by the Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action, as mediating factors between CFC and intention to get vaccinated was also examined. The temporal frame of a message was not found to moderate the effect of CFC on the dependent variables. While attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control did not mediate between CFC and intention to get vaccinated, these variables did significantly contribute to intention, providing support for the Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action as a useful model for predicting college women's response to health messages about the HPV vaccine. Additional analyses concerning demographic information, risk factors, knowledge about HPV and the vaccine, and responses to qualitative questions were also conducted.