Gender-Reflective Framing and HPV Vaccine Intentions

Last registered on April 01, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gender-Reflective Framing and HPV Vaccine Intentions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018250
Initial registration date
March 30, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 01, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Fabian Böhme
Affiliation
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Harald Tauchmann
PI Affiliation
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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PI Name
Elena Yurkevich
PI Affiliation
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-04-13
End date
2026-05-15
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
HPV vaccination, information framing, parental health decisions, gender identity, survey experiment, willingness to vaccinate
JEL code(s)
I12, I18, D83, C93
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We evaluate the effectiveness of gender-reflective framing in health communication aimed at increasing HPV vaccination intentions. The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes several cancers in both women and men, yet vaccination coverage in Germany remains below the WHO
target and exhibits a pronounced gender gap. Gender-reflective framing emphasizes protection of a specific gender group and may activate identity-based or empathetic motivations in parental decision-making regarding the vaccination of their children. To test this mechanism,
we conduct a randomized 2 × 2 × 2 factorial online survey experiment with German parents (target N ≈ 2,160). The treatment varies whether the informational message emphasizes cervical cancer (female frame) or penile cancer (male frame), while the parent’s gender and the focal child’s gender provide the remaining two factors. The primary outcome is parents’ intention to vaccinate their child against HPV (0–10 scale).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Böhme, Fabian, Harald Tauchmann and Elena Yurkevich. 2026. "Gender-Reflective Framing and HPV Vaccine Intentions." AEA RCT Registry. April 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18250-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Parents of children under age 9 in Germany read a short informational message about HPV vaccination. The message emphasizes either female-specific cancers (cervical cancer) or male-specific cancers (penile cancer).
Intervention Start Date
2026-04-13
Intervention End Date
2026-05-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Vaccination intention (0–10 scale): How likely the parent would be to vaccinate their oldest child against HPV once the child reaches the recommended age.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Measured immediately after treatment exposure via a single item on an 11-point scale (0 = "definitely will not vaccinate" to 10 = "definitely will vaccinate").

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
(1) Intention to discuss HPV vaccination at the next pediatric visit (0–10 scale). (2) Binary opt-in for additional HPV vaccination information. (3) Video watch behavior and duration (conditional on opt-in).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
The pediatrician intention uses the same 0–10 scale as the primary outcome. The information opt-in is a behavioral engagement proxy (yes/no). Video watch duration is recorded in seconds for respondents who opt in and serves as a revealed-preference measure of engagement. Secondary outcomes are analyzed using the same regression specifications as the primary outcome.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
2 × 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design. Factor 1 (randomized): message emphasis (female-specific vs. male-specific HPV cancers). Factor 2 (observed): parent gender (mother vs. father). Factor 3 (observed): oldest child's gender (daughter vs. son). Target population: parents in Germany whose oldest child is under 9 years of age. Target sample: N ≈ 2,160 (≈270 per cell). Six pre-specified two-sided hypotheses tested on the primary outcome.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Computer-based individual-level randomization via the Tivian (EFS) survey platform's quota system, stratified by parent gender × child gender (1:1 within each subgroup).
Randomization Unit
Individual respondent (no clustering).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2,160 individuals (not clustered; same as number of observations).
Sample size: planned number of observations
2,160 respondents (8 cells × ~270 each).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
~1,080 per message condition. Within each of the four parent–child subgroups (mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter, father-son), ~270 receive the female-specific and ~270 the male-specific emphasis.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Monte Carlo simulation (10,000,000 replications, N = 2,100, 262 per cell, simulated Likert-scale outcome). MDEs at 80% power, 5% significance (two-sided): (i) H0/H1/H2 (four-vs.-four cell comparisons): ≈ 0.275 scale points; (ii) H1a/H2a (difference-in-differences): ≈ 0.553; (iii) H3 (triple interaction): ≈ 1.122. These are conservative upper bounds that do not incorporate precision gains from covariate adjustment.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethikkommission des Fachbereichs Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften
IRB Approval Date
2025-12-15
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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