D2.3 HPV vaccination personalised communication Matrix

Access here the Deliverable 2.3.

By analysing and assessing the citizens' perceptions and attitudes on HPV infection and HPV vaccination before 2020 and before the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the conclusions of the ReThinkHPVaccination Consortium was that the rate of vaccination can be increased by developing and implementing personalised communication knowledge & training resources, based on social innovation and assessment and targeted interventions on the behavioural determinants of health.

To ensure efficacy, the interventions should be carried at multiple levels – micro, meso and macro, with involvement of key opinion leaders from each group that impacts the HPV vaccination course:

• Medical Specialists, Family doctors and Nurses - they deal both with parents and relatives as well as with the target group of girls/boys.
• School doctors and psychologists (where available) - they deal mostly with the children.
• Sanitary mediators and community health assistants / other health workers, depending on the zone - are key health communication and dissemination factors in vulnerable communities and have a social status, dealing both with the family and the children.
• Regional sanitary authorities - they deal with family doctors and other health workers described above.
• Teachers - are key communicators and disseminators in the children group and can have a major impact on the parents.
• Parents.
• NGOs representatives with activities in the sector.

The HPV Vaccination subject it is not only impacted by the classical anti-vaxx theories, but as well as by the cultural aspects - HPV vaccination is a very sensitive subject because it involves the prevention of a possible sexually transmitted disease from an early age. In societies with a strong traditional and religious background like Romania (over 80% of the population is Orthodox Christian) and in which around half of the population lives in rural areas, it is very difficult to communicate these messages efficiently.