K-Talk Intervention for HPV Vaccination

Overseen By Minjin Kim, PhD., RN

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Cincinnati

Disqualifiers: Non-Korean, Outside U.S., Age, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Approved in 1 Jurisdiction This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a new method to encourage HPV vaccination among Korean Americans using a storytelling video and AI chatbot, known as the K-Talk Intervention. Researchers aim to determine if this approach is feasible, well-received by participants, and effective in increasing vaccination rates. Participants will join one of four groups: a combination of chatbot and storytelling, chatbot only, storytelling only, or just written information. Ideal participants are Korean Americans living in the U.S., aged 18 to 45, who have not been vaccinated against HPV and use a mobile device.

As an unphased trial, this study allows participants to contribute to innovative public health strategies and potentially improve vaccination rates in their community.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems focused on promoting HPV vaccination through educational interventions, so it's unlikely that your current medications will be affected.

What prior data suggests that the K-Talk intervention is safe for promoting HPV vaccination?

Research has shown that AI chatbots like K-Bot are safe and helpful for encouraging healthy habits. Studies indicate that K-Bot, part of the K-Talk program, is well-liked and can increase awareness about the HPV vaccine. Tests have demonstrated that people interact well with the chatbot, proving it safe and effective for its purpose.

Research finds that video stories can boost understanding of HPV and the vaccine. These stories are designed to match cultural and language needs, making them easier to relate to and understand. Participants in similar studies have shown a greater willingness to get vaccinated, with no major safety issues reported.

Both the AI chatbot and storytelling methods aim to increase HPV vaccination rates without causing harm. Participants in these programs generally report positive experiences, with no significant adverse events. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about these interventions for HPV vaccination because they utilize innovative communication strategies to enhance vaccine uptake. The K-Bot intervention leverages an AI chatbot to engage participants through a web-based platform, offering interactive and personalized information, which is a fresh approach compared to traditional educational methods. The storytelling intervention uses periodic stories delivered via email to connect with participants on an emotional level, potentially making the information more relatable and memorable. The K-Talk intervention combines both storytelling and an AI chatbot, providing a comprehensive engagement experience. These methods are unique because they aim to overcome communication barriers and misinformation that often hinder vaccination efforts, offering a potential boost in HPV vaccination rates.

What evidence suggests that this trial's interventions could be effective in promoting HPV vaccination among Korean Americans?

Research has shown that the K-Talk program, which uses storytelling and an AI chatbot, could help increase HPV vaccination rates. In this trial, participants in the K-Talk Intervention group will receive both storytelling videos and access to the AI chatbot, called K-Bot. K-Bot is designed to be especially helpful for Korean Americans by providing culturally relevant health information. Tests have shown that it engages users by offering personalized health advice. Meanwhile, participants in the Storytelling Intervention group will receive digital stories, which have been proven to boost HPV vaccination rates by making the information easier to relate to and remember. By combining these two methods in the K-Talk Intervention, the program aims to better meet people's needs for information and motivation to get vaccinated. ^{1 4 5 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Minjin Kim, PhD., RN

Principal Investigator

UC College of Nursing

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for Korean Americans aged 18 to 26 who live in the U.S., speak or read English, have not received an HPV vaccine, and use a mobile device. It's designed to see if a video and chatbot program can increase HPV vaccination rates.

Inclusion Criteria

Identify as a Korean ethnic person

Reside in the U.S.

Be able to speak or read English

Exclusion Criteria

Participants who cannot speak or read English

Participants who have been vaccinated against HPV

Participants who do not use a mobile device

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

Online eligibility screening survey

Baseline Assessment

Participants complete a baseline survey and are randomized into intervention groups

1 week

Online survey

Intervention

Participants receive their assigned intervention (chatbot, storytelling, or both) for 3 months

3 months

Weekly interactions via web-based platform or email

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for HPV vaccination uptake and knowledge assessment

12 months

Follow-up surveys at 3, 6, and 12 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• K-Bot Intervention
• K-Talk Intervention
• Storytelling Intervention
• Written Information

Trial Overview The study tests K-Talk, which combines storytelling videos and AI chatbot technology to encourage HPV vaccinations. Participants are split into four groups: one with both chatbot and storytelling, one with just the chatbot, one with only storytelling, and one receiving written information.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Storytelling Intervention Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

After completing the pre-test survey, participants from all intervention groups will receive the written information. Subsequently, they will be randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups. The storytelling intervention group will only be exposed to periodic release of stories via email for 3 months.

Group II: K-Talk Intervention: Storytelling and AI Chatbot Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

After completing the pre-test survey, participants from all intervention groups will receive the written information. Subsequently, they will be randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups. The K-Talk group will receive a series of weekly storytelling videos, and access to the chatbot via the web-based platform KakaoTalk for 3 months.

Group III: K-Bot (AI Chatbot Intervention) Intervention Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

After completing the pre-test survey, participants from all intervention groups will receive the written information. Subsequently, they will be randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups. The K-Bot group will only interact with the chatbot via the web-based platform or KakaoTalk for 3 months.

Group IV: Written Information Active Control 1 Intervention

This group will only be exposed to written, didactic HPV education materials after the pre-test.

K-Talk Intervention is already approved in United States for the following indications:

Approved in United States as K-Talk for:

• Promotion of HPV vaccination behavior among Korean Americans aged 18 to 45

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Cincinnati

Lead Sponsor

Trials

442

Recruited

639,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The study evaluated a conversational agent designed to provide HPV vaccine counseling to young college adults (n=24), showing that participants found it to have high usability, comparable to other voice interactive systems.

There is evidence suggesting that the conversational agent positively influenced participants' beliefs about the HPV vaccine, potentially addressing concerns about its safety and effectiveness, which could help improve vaccination rates.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Examining Potential Usability and Health Beliefs Among Young Adults Using a Conversational Agent for HPV Vaccine Counseling. Amith, M., Lin, R., Cunningham, R., et al.[2020]

Training providers to use presumptive 'announcements' significantly increased HPV vaccination initiation by 5.4% among adolescents aged 11 or 12 years compared to control clinics, indicating that this approach is effective in improving vaccination rates.

Conversational training did not lead to any significant changes in HPV vaccination coverage, suggesting that the method of recommendation plays a crucial role in influencing parents' decisions to vaccinate their children.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Announcements Versus Conversations to Improve HPV Vaccination Coverage: A Randomized Trial. Brewer, NT., Hall, ME., Malo, TL., et al.[2022]

The study demonstrated that virtual digital storytelling (DST) workshops are a feasible and well-accepted method for engaging Vietnamese American and Korean American mothers in discussions about HPV vaccination, with high satisfaction ratings (mean 4.2-5).

The workshops revealed six major themes related to mothers' experiences and attitudes towards HPV vaccination, highlighting the importance of culturally relevant health communication in improving vaccination rates among these communities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Developing a Culturally and Linguistically Congruent Digital Storytelling Intervention in Vietnamese and Korean American Mothers of Human Papillomavirus-Vaccinated Children: Feasibility and Acceptability Study. Kim, SW., Chen, AC., Ou, L., et al.[2023]

A systematic review of 12 randomized controlled trials involving 38,945 participants found that communication technology interventions significantly improve the initiation and completion rates of HPV vaccinations compared to control groups.

Various methods such as text messaging, automated phone calls, and electronic health record prompts were effective in increasing vaccination coverage, suggesting that these technologies can play a crucial role in future HPV vaccination efforts.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Communication technologies to improve HPV vaccination initiation and completion: A systematic review. Francis, DB., Cates, JR., Wagner, KPG., et al.[2022]

A pilot study involving 104 Korean American college women found that a storytelling video intervention significantly improved knowledge and attitudes towards the HPV vaccine compared to traditional written materials.

At a 2-month follow-up, women who viewed the storytelling video were twice as likely to receive the HPV vaccine, indicating the potential effectiveness of this intervention in promoting vaccination in a population with low screening rates.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Storytelling Intervention in a Mobile, Web-Based Platform: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Preliminary Effectiveness to Promote Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Korean American College Women. Kim, M., Lee, H., Kiang, P., et al.[2022]

A study involving 22 parents of children aged 11-13 revealed that barriers like misinformation and facilitators such as pediatrician recommendations significantly influence HPV vaccination decisions.

The research identified 11 recommendations for improving HPV vaccination interventions, emphasizing the need for trusted information sources, family-oriented messaging, and an enhanced clinic experience to support parents in making informed decisions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Informing Content and Feature Design of a Parent-Focused Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Digital Behavior Change Intervention: Synchronous Text-Based Focus Group Study. Becker, ER., Shegog, R., Savas, LS., et al.[2022]

Only 22% of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) professionals viewed AI-enabled chatbots as effective for providing advice, indicating a significant level of skepticism about their utility in this field.

While chatbots were accepted for tasks like appointment booking and general advice, there was considerable hesitancy regarding their use for sensitive areas such as safeguarding and emotional support, primarily due to concerns about patient safety and unfamiliarity with the technology.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"But can chatbots understand sex?" Attitudes towards artificial intelligence chatbots amongst sexual and reproductive health professionals: An exploratory mixed-methods study. Nadarzynski, T., Lunt, A., Knights, N., et al.[2023]

In a study involving 18 parents, a conversational agent was tested for communicating health information about the HPV vaccine, showing that non-vaccine hesitant parents found it easy to use and effective for conveying information.

The research suggests that using conversational agents may enhance communication about vaccines compared to traditional methods, indicating potential for increased vaccine uptake in the future.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Early Usability Assessment of a Conversational Agent for HPV Vaccination. Amith, M., Zhu, A., Cunningham, R., et al.[2020]

Citations

1. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05884697

NCT05884697 | Let's K-Talk - HPV Study for Ethnic Koreans Researchers will compare how Group 1, a combination of AI Chatbot and storytelling intervention is more effective than other intervention groups in promoting ...

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12012392/

A Culturally Tailored Artificial Intelligence Chatbot (K-Bot) ... This study examined the development and usability evaluation of K-Bot, an AI chatbot created to provide bilingual, culturally sensitive health information about ...

3. nature.com nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03618-6

Vaccine chatbot for parents to improve HPV vaccination uptake This study assesses the effectiveness of a vaccine chatbot in improving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among female middle school students.

4. nursing.uc.edu nursing.uc.edu/share/studies.html

SHARE | Studies - Storytelling for Health Advocacy, Research ... Let's K-Talk: A Storytelling Intervention Leveraging Chatbot Technology to Prevent HPV and HPV Associated Cancers for Ethnic Koreans living in the U.S..

5. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40194281/

A Culturally Tailored Artificial Intelligence Chatbot (K-Bot) ... Usability testing of K-Bot revealed its potential as a culturally tailored, bilingual tool for promoting HPV vaccination among Korean ...

6. reporter.nih.gov reporter.nih.gov/search/87ZFv9VDl0qk28a2pDvs3g/project-details/10895473

Project Details Dr. Kim's storytelling video-based intervention leveraging AI chatbot technology (K-Talk) delivers a user-centered experience to promote HPV vaccination ...

7. apinj.jmir.org apinj.jmir.org/2025/1/e71865

A Culturally Tailored Artificial Intelligence Chatbot (K-Bot) to ... Conclusions: Usability testing of K-Bot revealed its potential as a culturally tailored, bilingual tool for promoting HPV vaccination among ...