Designing for Adolescent Voice in Health Decisions: Embodied Conversational Agents for HPV Vaccination

TL;DR

This paper introduces a mobile intervention featuring embodied conversational agents that empower adolescents to participate actively in HPV vaccination decisions, complementing parental involvement.

Contribution

It presents a novel design of tailored conversational agents for adolescents and parents, promoting agency and informed decision-making in health interventions.

Findings

High satisfaction among adolescents and parents

Improved HPV knowledge post-intervention

Increased vaccination intent

Abstract

Adolescents are directly affected by preventive health decisions such as vaccination, yet their perspectives are rarely solicited or supported. Most digital interventions for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination are designed exclusively for parents, implicitly treating adolescents as passive recipients rather than stakeholders with agency. We present the design and evaluation of a mobile intervention that gives adolescents a voice in HPV vaccination decisions alongside their parents. The system uses embodied conversational agents tailored to each audience: parents interact with an animated physician using education and motivational interviewing techniques, while adolescents can choose between an age-appropriate doctor or a narrative fantasy game that conveys HPV facts through play. We report findings from a clinic-based pilot study with 21 parent-adolescent dyads. Results indicate high satisfaction across both audiences, improved HPV knowledge, and increased intent to vaccinate. We discuss design implications for supporting adolescent participation, choice, and agency in decisions about their health.