The influence of national origin cues in HPV vaccination advertising: an eye-tracking study of visual attention and vaccine perception using quantitative and qualitative analysis
Author(s)
Hana Frade, João Lucas
Engracia Giraldi, Janaina de Moura
Porat, Talya
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This study is among the first to investigate how national origin cues influence visual attention and perception in HPV vaccine advertisements, using eye-tracking technology to provide objective insights into consumer responses. By integrating methods from public health, psychology, and advertising research, this study explores how visual attention is shaped by national affiliation cues. In a controlled experimental setting with a sample of 40 UK university students, we investigated visual attention and effectiveness of HPV vaccination advertisements by comparing ads disclosing the national origin of the vaccine and without any origin information. We assessed total fixation duration and time to first fixation to various elements of the ad, along with intention and attitude measures. Contrary to one of our hypotheses, we did not find significant differences in intention (p = .758) and attitude (p = .620) measures. However, there was significant difference in total fixation duration toward one of the ad images between conditions (p = .043). The qualitative analysis reveals the role of country-of-origin (COO) in HPV vaccination advertising, suggesting a shift in attention from that image to the COO cue. Furthermore, eight out of the 20 participants in the treatment condition did not fixate at the COO cue. Findings provide critical insights for public health communication strategies, suggesting that the use (or omission) of national origin cues in vaccine advertisements could influence vaccine perception and hesitancy. These results highlight the need for strategic messaging approaches to enhance HPV vaccine acceptance and improve public trust in domestic and international vaccines.
Date Issued
2025-12-01
Date Acceptance
2025-05-12
Citation
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 2025, 21 (1)
ISSN
2164-5515
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Journal / Book Title
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Volume
21
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Identifier
10.1080/21645515.2025.2506865
Subjects
Vaccine hesitancy
countryof-origin effect
country-oforigin cue
visual attention during advertising
eyetracking
domestic vaccines
national vaccines
HPV prevention
HPV vaccine
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
2506865
Date Publish Online
2025-05-21