In the USA, although college-aged populations are at the greatest risk for initial infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), they are one of the age-based populations with lower HPV vaccine rates, largely due to their lack of perceived need to vaccinate against HPV. Health communication campaigns can help address this perception. This research identifies college students’ preferred digital media channels for future HPV vaccine communication campaigns. We conducted qualitative small group interviews with 28 students from one large southwestern university. We used an inductive approach to hand-code interview transcripts, develop a coding structure, and analyze themes that emerged from the data. More than half of the study participants had never heard of the HPV vaccine before participating in a small group interview. When asked how they prefer to receive information about the vaccine, students more often recommended creating educational videos featuring healthcare providers and other college students and sharing them on YouTube. Some students recommended creating and posting health information memes and infographics to Instagram to disseminate the most critical information students need to make an informed decision to receive the vaccine. Given the prominent role of social media and the popularity of video-sharing and image-sharing sites, health educators and communicators should utilize these technologies to promote the HPV vaccine, a cancer prevention resource.

在美国，虽然大学生人群初次感染人乳头瘤病毒 (HPV) 的风险最大，但他们是 HPV 疫苗接种率较低的年龄人群之一，这主要是因为他们认为没有必要接种疫苗。 HPV。健康传播活动可以帮助消除这种看法。这项研究确定了大学生在未来 HPV 疫苗宣传活动中首选的数字媒体渠道。我们对来自西南一所大型大学的 28 名学生进行了定性小组访谈。我们使用归纳方法对采访记录进行手工编码，开发编码结构，并分析从数据中出现的主题。超过一半的研究参与者在参加小组访谈之前从未听说过 HPV 疫苗。当被问及他们更喜欢如何接收有关疫苗的信息时，学生们更常建议制作以医疗保健提供者和其他大学生为主角的教育视频，并在 YouTube 上分享。一些学生建议创建健康信息表情包和信息图表并将其发布到 Instagram，以传播学生做出接种疫苗的明智决定所需的最关键信息。鉴于社交媒体的突出作用以及视频共享和图像共享网站的普及，健康教育者和传播者应利用这些技术来推广 HPV 疫苗（一种癌症预防资源）。