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Parents who discussed HPV vaccines with a chatbot were three times more likely to vaccinate their children. So could your next health conversation be with AI?What you need to know
Parents who used an AI chatbot were three times more likely to vaccinate or schedule an HPV vaccination for their children, according to new research.Also Read | Zero Shadow Day 2025 Date and Time in Bengaluru: Why There's No Shadow Around Noon? How Often Does It Occur? Key Details About ZSD Explained.
Vaccination was eight times more likely for those living in rural areas.
The chatbot also increased consultation rates with healthcare workers and vaccine literacy.
With vaccine-preventable diseases on the rise, finding new ways to bring people accessible, judgment-free medical information could help rebuild confidence in vaccines.
Coinciding with World Immunization Week, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance today issued a joint statement warning about a rise in outbreaks of measles, meningitis and yellow fever.
AI technology could help with this task, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Nearly 2,700 adults with children in schools from urban and rural Chinese communities took part in the research. Half had access to an AI chatbot for two weeks while another received standard HPV vaccine advice.
The study found parents with high chatbot engagement were twice as likely to vaccinate their children as those with low engagement.
"Available 24/7, chatbots offer an accessible and judgment-free space to ask questions [which is] especially important for sensitive or stigmatized topics," said Leesa Lin, co-director of the UK-based London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Vaccine Confidence Project.
"This is particularly relevant in areas like women's health, where cultural or social norms may limit open discussion."
What is HPV?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer, having killed more than 300,000 people in 2022.
But the HPV vaccine is remarkably effective. A 2021 UK study showed school vaccination programs established in the 1990s led to huge drops in British cervical cancer cases.
However, improvements are uneven. While countries like Slovenia and Finland have seen cases of cervical cancer drop dramatically in recent years, other regions such as China, India, Indonesia, and Brazil still face stubbornly high rates.
These four countries account for half of the world's cervical cancer cases, and China alone bears almost a quarter of the burden.
Despite this, only a tenth of Chinese women aged 9-45 years have received an HPV vaccination.
Barriers fueling this hesitancy include a lack of knowledge about HPV, conservative attitudes toward discussing sexual health, and a lack of healthcare information.
Bots boosted HPV vaccine uptake
Vaccine uptake and scheduled appointments were three times higher in the chatbot group compared to the control group.
In rural areas where healthcare access is often limited, vaccination rates were more than eight times higher among parents who engaged with the chatbot.
"[AI chatbots] scalability and mobile accessibility make them especially useful in under-resourced or remote settings, where healthcare infrastructure may be limited," said Lin.
Beyond vaccination itself, using the chatbot also increased engagement with healthcare professionals.
Nearly half of parents in the chatbot group later consulted with healthcare professionals about HPV vaccination, compared to only a fifth of those receiving general advice. Researchers also found improved vaccine literacy among parents who interacted with the AI.
"Parents generally perceived the chatbot as a trustworthy, clear, and approachable source of information — particularly when it used culturally appropriate language and was introduced by credible health institutions," said Lin.
Can a chatbot improve vaccine uptake?
The WHO says childhood vaccination rates are still below pre-COVID levels and public health bodies with concerns over vaccine hesitancy are searching for new ways to address these.
Artificial intelligencecould be a part of the solution, with some caveats.
First, HPV vaccines aren't publicly funded in China, which can affect parents' decision-making, in terms of cost and preferred vaccine availability.
Different vaccines also face different hesitancy challenges.
The concerns surrounding childhood vaccines or COVID-19 immunizations may require entirely different approaches than those for HPV.
"The effectiveness of chatbots depends significantly on the disease context and the specific behavioral outcome being targeted," said Lin.
"For example, in our HPV vaccine chatbot study, the tool was designed to support informed decision-making and promote vaccine uptake — a clearly defined and measurable outcome for a well-recognized condition."
More research is needed to see if AI chatbots can improve vaccine uptake for other diseases and in other countries.
Finding a human-AI balance
While the rise of AI has some people concerned about its impact on human jobs, this study found the chatbot acted as a bridge to increase engagement with health workers.
Still, risks remain.
"Risks include misinformation if not responsibly developed and monitored, a lack of personalization in complex cases, and the possibility of overreliance," said Lin.
To address these risks, she said they "follow a rigorous development process akin to other scientific health interventions."
"Responsible AI use in health — especially in areas like vaccination and reproductive health — requires both technological safeguards and ethical design."
Edited by: Matthew Ward Agius
Source
A vaccine chatbot intervention for parents to improve HPV vaccination uptake among middle school girls: a cluster randomized trial
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2025 05:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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