Different Culture or Different Mind? A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Young Adult’s Perception and Acceptance of HPV Vaccine and the Moderated Message Framing Effect in China and USA

• In Event: Framing Effects in Health Communication

Abstract

Promotion of HPV vaccine is an important public health issue. Unlike the United States, where HPV vaccine has long been a part of the public discourse, China has recently approved its first HPV vaccine. Setting up a baseline of comparison between two countries and channeling the profound research findings in the U.S. to a new setting, this study examined the influence of message framing (gain vs. loss), motivational orientation, cultural cognition, knowledge and gender on young adults’ intentions to get vaccinated in the United States and China. Chinese college students showed higher risk perception and vaccination intention, but casted more doubts to the safety of HPV vaccine than their U.S. counterparts. Inconsistent effects of message framing and its moderators were also observed, calling for research attention to the application of the classic research paradigm in China.
Keywords: HPV, HPV vaccine, message framing, cross-cultural study

Authors

• Sixiao Liu, University at Buffalo, SUNY

• Haoran Chu, U of Buffalo

• Janet Zheng Yang, State U of New York - Buffalo