Evaluation of a Vaccine Chatbot on HPV Vaccine Confidence and Hesitancy

NCT ID: NCT07200570

Last Updated: 2025-10-01

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1800 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-09-26

Study Completion Date

2026-05-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence works to improve HPV vaccination among females aged 15 to 26 in China. A randomized controlled trial and implementation science study will be conducted targeting females as participants. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does the vaccine chatbot influence women's confidence, literacy, hesitancy, and uptake of the HPV vaccine.
2. What are the public acceptance of chatbot and the facilitators and barriers to its implementation in a real-world setting.

Researchers will compare a group of women who use the chatbot with a group who do not use it to see if the chatbot is effective at helping women feel confident and willing to get vaccinated against HPV.

Participants will:

1. Be recruited and randomly allocated into one of two groups. One group will be invited to use the HPV vaccine chatbot and the other group will not get access to the vaccine chatbot until the end of the trial.
2. Complete a questionnaire survey on their confidence, literacy, and hesitancy on the HPV vaccine.
3. Have their vaccination status checked at the end of trial.

Detailed Description

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A randomized controlled trial with 2 arms will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an LLM-powered chatbot on improving HPV vaccination among females aged 15 to 26, followed by a pragmatic implementation science study to assess the public acceptance of chatbot and to identify the facilitators and barriers to its implementation in a real-world setting.

The sample size is calculated based on the primary outcome of the HPV vaccination uptake among females aged 15 to 26 in China. This uptake is around 10% according to the China CDC estimation, and we assume that it can increase to 15% following the intervention. With a significance level (α) of 0.05 and 80% power (1-β=0.8), a sample size of at least 683 per group is needed to detect a 5% absolute difference in vaccination rate (from an assumed baseline rate of 10% to 15% post-intervention). The sample size is inflated to 900 per group to account for potential loss to follow-up and to ensure adequate power for a multi-center design.

Participant recruitment will be conducted across three representative regions of China. For those aged 15 to 18, their parents will be also enrolled. A randomization method will be employed to ensure balanced allocation across two groups, and the randomization sequence will be generated by an independent statistician to ensure a 1:1 allocation ratio.

Participants in the intervention group will be invited to use the HPV vaccine chatbot. The chatbot powered by a large language model (LLM), offers a scalable, accessible, and interactive platform around the HPV vaccine information. The control group will not get access to the vaccine chatbot until the end of the trial. Following the intervention, all participants will complete a questionnaire survey on their confidence, literacy, and hesitancy on the HPV vaccine. And their vaccination status will be obtained from official vaccination records at the end of trial.

The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Between-group comparisons will use t-tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables. To adjust for potential confounders, generalized estimating equation (GEE) models will be employed to provide robust effect estimates. Timing of vaccination will be evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank tests, with Cox proportional hazards models to estimate intervention effects on time-to-vaccination. Subgroup analyses will assess heterogeneity of intervention effects across populations stratified by baseline characteristics.

Conditions

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HPV Vaccine

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Chatbot Intervention Group

Participants in this arm will be granted access to an interactive, LLM-powered HPV vaccine chatbot for a period of three months. They are invited to use the chatbot to ask any questions related to HPV and HPV vaccine to receive personalized and accurate information. The chatbot invitation will be sent every weeks to reinforce the intervention within the first month.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

LLM-Powered HPV Vaccine Chatbot

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A vaccine chatbot delivered via WeChat or a web browser, designed to provide information and health education about the HPV vaccine. The chatbot is powered by large language models and is trained on an expert-validated knowledge base derived from authoritative sources such as the WHO and China CDC to ensure accuracy. The knowledge base is validated by experts. The chatbot engages users in interactive, conversational dialogue to answer questions and address concerns regarding HPV and HPV vaccines.

Control Group

Participants assigned to the control arm will receive standard care but will not have access to the HPV vaccine chatbot during the study period. For ethical considerations, participants in this arm will be offered access to the chatbot after the end of the study.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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LLM-Powered HPV Vaccine Chatbot

A vaccine chatbot delivered via WeChat or a web browser, designed to provide information and health education about the HPV vaccine. The chatbot is powered by large language models and is trained on an expert-validated knowledge base derived from authoritative sources such as the WHO and China CDC to ensure accuracy. The knowledge base is validated by experts. The chatbot engages users in interactive, conversational dialogue to answer questions and address concerns regarding HPV and HPV vaccines.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Female, aged 15 to 26 years, inclusive.
* Not previously vaccinated against HPV.
* Reports no contraindications to HPV vaccination.
* Has no mental, visual, or reading impairments that would preclude cooperation with study activities.
* Is willing and able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

* Male.
* Age under 15 or over 26 years.
* Has a history of prior HPV vaccination.
* Has a known contraindication to HPV vaccination.
* Unable to comply with study procedures.
* Is unwilling or unable to provide informed consent.
Minimum Eligible Age

15 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

26 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role collaborator

Fudan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Zhiyuan Hou

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Central Contacts

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Zhiyuan Hou, PhD

Role: CONTACT

86+21 54231112

References

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Other Identifiers

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Fudan-HPV LLM chatbot

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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