Using AI to Chat About HPV with Adolescents

We aim to develop an AI conversational agent that informs and engages rural families about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. This research seeks to empower families with accurate information, promote informed health decisions and build vaccine confidence. We conducted 13 interviews with parents and adolescents aged 11 to 16 residing in rural Michigan--an underrepresented sub-population in existing research. Our study showed that participants found the AI conversational agent easy to use and intuitive, which suggests that our natural-language-based AI agent can overcome the barriers to entry among rural populations. Yet, many parents expressed a desire for assistance scheduling the vaccine, highlighting the need for customized interactions tailored to their unique needs.