Merck Targets Low Income and Minority Women in HPV Vaccine Study

Merck, manufacturer of the controversial Gardasil vaccine, has awarded a research grant of $79,000.00 to two Indiana University Kelley School of Business professors to study the effect of two interventions on acceptance of the HPV vaccination among low-income and minority women, according to a press release by the university. One professor, Dena Cox, will examine how consumers make health care decisions. Another professor, Anthony Cox, will explore how consumers evaluate the risk factors involved when considering medical treatments.

Researchers are Business Experts, Not Medical Doctors

Eli Lilly Fellow Dena Cox, who will serve as the principal investigator on the study, was previously a microbiologist before receiving a doctorate in marketing from the University of Houston. Anthony Cox, co-investigator for this study, has a Ph.D. in marketing from Indiana University. Note that neither of these researchers are medical doctors. According to the press release, it is their job to “seek the most effective ways to present HPV vaccine risk and benefit information to low-income Hispanic, African-American and White women, so that they can make informed HPV vaccination decisions.”

Bleech!
Jenny Hatch