Abstract C018: Barriers, facilitators, and strategies for recruitment and retention of U.S. Vietnamese parents in digital health interventions to improve HPV vaccination
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-18-2026
Abstract
Background:
The U.S. Vietnamese community experiences higher HPV-related cancer burden compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Yet HPV vaccination rates among U.S. Vietnamese children also remain suboptimal. Digital interventions could enhance HPV vaccine awareness and adoption, though their effectiveness depends on the willingness of underrepresented groups to enroll and participate. This study examines the barriers and facilitators of enrolling and participating in digital health interventions related to HPV vaccination among U.S. Vietnamese parents, with the goal of identifying feasible strategies for recruitment and retention. Methods:
We conducted 34 semi-structured interviews with U.S. Vietnamese parents of adolescents, healthcare providers, and leaders from the U.S. Vietnamese community using a mix of convenience, snowball, and online targeted sampling from February to November 2024. Interviews explored HPV vaccination perceptions, attitudes toward digital health interventions, and preferences for recruitment, consent, data collection, and digital modalities. Transcripts were coded in MAXQDA and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to identify barriers, facilitators, and strategies to enhance recruitment and retention. Results:
Six analytical themes shaped engagement: trustworthiness, language accessibility, communication modality alignment and usability, time burden and scheduling, content clarity and engagement, and emotional and interpersonal experience. Barriers included concerns about scams (e.g., unsolicited links), distrust of unfamiliar research staff, limited English proficiency, technology access and usability challenges, long and irregular work hours, and discomfort discussing HPV due to sexual health taboos. Facilitators included Vietnamese/English bilingual content, low-burden digital formats (e.g., mobile-friendly short videos), privacy to ask sensitive questions, timely responses to questions, simple language, and personable, human interaction. Participant-informed strategies to enhance recruitment and retention in future interventions included initiating in-person or personal contact through trusted referral sources (e.g., community leaders), providing clear credentials of the research team, tailoring materials culturally and linguistically, addressing privacy concerns, offering flexible digital modalities, and including opportunities for live question-and-answer. Conclusions:
Digital HPV vaccination interventions for U.S. Vietnamese parents may be more effective when they are co-designed with the community, initiated via in-person recruitment, offered in multiple languages, and supported by flexible digital modalities that allow parents to ask questions directly. These strategies can guide recruitment, retention, and intervention design to improve cancer prevention equity efforts in an underrepresented community. Generative AI disclosure: Generative AI was used to assist with proofreading and editing of this abstract.
Recommended Citation
David Tran, Huyen-Anh Giang, Ninh Nguyen, Valerie Juliet. Espinoza, Chau Nguyen, Eric A. Boakye, Lilian Bui, Linh D. Schiffer, Phuong Do, Heather M. Brandt, Jasmin Tiro, Rachel F. Kornfield, Juned Siddique, Sa Tran, Ella Berry, Emma Macdonald, Quoc T. Dang, Anh Nguyen, Namratha Kandula, Milkie Vu; Abstract C018: Barriers, facilitators, and strategies for recruitment and retention of U.S. Vietnamese parents in digital health interventions to improve HPV vaccination. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1 October 2026; 35 (10_Supplement): C018.