Facebook surveys of HPV vaccine uptake help pinpoint disparities

Facebook surveys are a cost-effective and feasible way to estimate local variation in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Unlike national and state level data, local data are not available due to small sample sizes, confidentiality concerns and cost. The researchers set out to determine whether social media advertising and recruitment strategies, in combination with online surveys, could help supply that information within specific geographic areas.

From November 2012 to January 2013, men and women (ages 18-30) completed surveys through a Facebook advertising campaign that targeted residents by location—in this case, within 25 miles of Minneapolis.

Of the 2,079 men and women who responded to the Facebook advertisements, 1,003 (48.2 percent) enrolled in the study and completed the survey. The average advertising cost per completed survey was $1.36.

Among those who reported their postal code, 90.6 percent of the participants lived within the previously defined geographic study area. Receipt of 1 dose or more of HPV vaccine was reported by 65.6 percent of women and 13 percent of men. These results do not reflect previously reported Minnesota state level estimates, which are 53.8 percent for young women and 20.8 percent for young men, according to the study.

“[R]ecruiting young adults via the internet is efficient, cost-effective and can produce a representative sample of the target population. Future work is needed to understand the pattern of HPV vaccine uptake at local levels in order to identify areas that may be best served by vaccine programs,” wrote Erik J. Nelson, MPH, PhD, of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, et al.