Munro, Nicholas.Hossain, Alifa Dil.2025-07-182025-07-1820242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/23846Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most widely spread Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and frequent exposure can cause cervical cancer in women, often resulting in death. Due to the high incidence of cervical cancer fatalities, the World Health Organisation (WHO), recommended the HPV vaccine as a prevention strategy. In South Africa, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Since 2014, the South African government rolled out a free HPV vaccine, to girls attending public schools in grade 5 aged 9 years or older, in an attempt to reduce their risk of developing cervical cancer. Despite initial programme success within the first few years of the rollout, the HPV vaccine uptake has decreased since and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that ‘anti-vaxxer’ attitudes further impacted all vaccine initiatives and that these attitudes and opinions tended to be most vocal on the variety of social media platforms available today. Social media has become a main mode of communication and a primary source of information for many across the world. This study aimed to explore the social media health messaging regarding the HPV vaccine programme for schoolgirls and public’s reactions to these health messages on the Gauteng Department of Health’s (GDOH) social media handles and official website. The GDOH was specifically chosen for this study due being the most populous province and the economic hub of the country. Grounded in the Health Belief Model (HBM), this qualitative study aimed to analyse health messaging conveyed by the GDOH, how it was received by the public, and what health beliefs were elicited from the HPV vaccine programme’s health messaging. It was found that the GDOH used timing, repetition, combining the HPV vaccine programme with other health initiatives, and education regarding HPV vaccine prevention against cancer, as health communication strategies to increase and motivate for HPV vaccine uptake. It is identified that the public became disinterested from the use of repetitive posts, demanded further education and information pertaining to the HPV vaccine, contested the age group chosen, and viewed the HPV vaccine programme as gendered. Data from the GDOH’s social media and official website indicate that all six constructs of the HBM were strategically implemented to motivate parents and guardians to consent for the HPV vaccine. However, the GDOH needs to engage and collaborate with the public further to effectively increase and improve HPV vaccination uptake among schoolgirls.enHPV vaccination.Cervical cancer.Health messaging.South Africa.Thesis