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Factors Associated with Hepatitis B Knowledge Among Vietnamese Americans: A Population-Based Survey

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Abstract

Vietnamese Americans have high rates of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection but low rates of knowledge and screening. A population-based survey conducted in 2011 of Vietnamese Americans in two geographic areas (n = 1666) was analyzed. The outcome variables were having heard of HBV and a score summarizing knowledge of HBV transmission. Most respondents (86.0%) had heard of HBV. Correct knowledge of transmission ranged from 59.5% for sex, 68.1% for sharing toothbrushes, 78.6% for during birth, and 85.0% for sharing needles. In multivariable analyses, factors associated with having heard of HBV and higher knowledge included Northern California residence, longer U.S. residence, higher education, family history of HBV, and discussing HBV with family/friends. Higher income was associated with having heard of HBV. English fluency and being U.S.-born were associated with higher knowledge. Interventions to increase knowledge of HBV transmission are needed to decrease this health disparity among Vietnamese Americans.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded in part through Grant P01 CA109091-01A1, funded jointly by the National Cancer Institute and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Grant U54 CA153499 funded by the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, with additional support from Grant AD12114615 funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. We also would like to acknowledge the support of the Asian American Research Center on Health (ARCH), the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project’s Community Advisory Board, and the Vietnamese Reach for Health Coalition. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, 1545 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Janet N. Chu, Stephen J. McPhee, Ching Wong & Tung T. Nguyen

  2. Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Phuoc V. Le

  3. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Phuoc V. Le

  4. Travers Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Chris J. Kennedy

  5. Asian American Research Center on Health, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Janet N. Chu, Stephen J. McPhee, Ching Wong & Tung T. Nguyen

  6. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Susan L. Stewart

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  1. Janet N. Chu
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  2. Phuoc V. Le
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  7. Tung T. Nguyen
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Correspondence to Janet N. Chu.

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Chu, J.N., Le, P.V., Kennedy, C.J. et al. Factors Associated with Hepatitis B Knowledge Among Vietnamese Americans: A Population-Based Survey. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 801–808 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0526-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0526-8

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