AMONG Gen Z college students, HPV vaccination intention was driven more by vaccine perceptions than emotional flow.
Gen Z HPV Vaccination Intentions and Message Framing
A U.S. experimental study suggests that how young adults think about HPV vaccination may matter more than how prevention messages make them feel. Researchers tested three message formats among 440 college students: a facts only message, a facts plus threat message, and a facts plus threat plus hope message. Although the emotional flow approach was designed to shift participants from concern to reassurance, it did not significantly increase vaccination intention among unvaccinated students.
Instead, vaccine perceptions emerged as the strongest predictor of HPV vaccination intentions. In the final regression model, more positive views of vaccination were associated with stronger intent to seek vaccination, ahead of perceived HPV severity, risk taking tendencies, and emotional response. Together, these variables explained 26% of the variance in vaccination intention.
Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Students Responded Differently
The study also found clear differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated participants. Those who had already received at least one HPV vaccine dose reported greater perceived HPV susceptibility, greater perceived HPV severity, and stronger belief in vaccine effectiveness across the study conditions. By contrast, unvaccinated participants showed a stronger emotional response to the facts, threat, and hope message, but that response did not translate into a higher intention to vaccinate.
These findings suggest that emotional engagement alone may be insufficient to close the gap between attitude and action in this age group. For clinicians, the results point to the importance of addressing underlying vaccine beliefs directly, especially among patients who remain uncertain or hesitant.
What the Findings May Mean for Practice
The data also offer useful insight into communication channels. Television advertising was the most commonly reported HPV information source, followed by social media sponsored advertisements and recommendations from health professionals. Exposure to health expert messaging showed positive associations with emotional response, perceived susceptibility, severity, and vaccine effectiveness, whereas exposure to social media influencer content was negatively associated with some vaccine related perceptions.
Overall, the findings suggest that HPV communication for Gen Z may benefit less from emotional sequencing alone and more from strengthening positive vaccine perceptions, reducing stigma, and reinforcing trusted, evidence based recommendations in settings where young adults already receive health information.
Reference
Hominski C et al. Vaccine perceptions outweigh emotional flow in predicting HPV vaccination intentions among Gen Z college students. Vaccines. 2026;14(2):150.
