Impact of mobile health technologies on human papillomavirus vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated girls aged 9–14 years in Lagos, Nigeria (mHealth-HPVac): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Background Despite the availability of effective vaccines, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake remains low in most resource-limited settings including Nigeria. Mobile health technology (mHealth) has the potential to empower patients to manage their health, reduce health disparities, and enhance the uptake of HPV vaccination.

Aim The “mHealth-HPVac” study will assess the effects of mHealth using short text messages on the uptake of HPV vaccination among mothers of unvaccinated girls aged 9–14 years and also determine the factors influencing the uptake of HPV vaccination among these mothers.

Methods This protocol highlights a randomised controlled trial involving women aged 25–65 years who will be enrolled on attendance for routine care at the General Outpatient clinics of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria between July and December 2024. At baseline, n = 123 women will be randomised to either a short text message or usual care (control) arm. The primary outcome is vaccination of the participant’s school-age girl(s) at any time during the 6 months of follow-up. The associations between any two groups of continuous variables will be assessed using the independent sample t-test for normally distributed data, or the Mann-Whitney U test for skewed data. For two groups of categorical variables, the Chi-square (X2) test or Fisher’s exact test will be used, as appropriate. Using the multivariable binary logistic regression model, we will examine the effects of all relevant sociodemographic and clinical variables on HPV vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated but vaccine-eligible school-age girls. Statistical significance will be reported as P < 0.05.

Discussion The mHealth-Cervix study will evaluate the impact of mobile technologies on HPV vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated but vaccine-eligible school-age girls in Lagos, Nigeria as a way of contributing to the reduction in the wide disparities in cervical cancer incidence through primary prevention facilitated using health promotion to improve HPV vaccination uptake.

Registration PACTR202406727470443 (6th June 2024).