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Evaluation of a Hepatitis B Lay Health Worker Intervention for Cambodian Americans

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Abstract

Cambodian Americans have high rates of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, only about one-half of Cambodian Americans have been serologically tested for HBV. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a lay health worker (LHW) intervention on HBV testing and knowledge levels among Cambodian Americans. The study group included 250 individuals who participated in a community based survey in metropolitan Seattle and had not been tested for HBV. Experimental group participants received a LHW intervention addressing HBV and control group participants received a LHW intervention addressing physical activity. Trial participants completed a follow-up survey 6 months after randomization. Over four-fifths (82 %) of randomized individuals participated in a LHW home visit and the follow-up survey response rate was 80 %. Among participants with follow-up data, 22 % of the experimental group and 3 % of the control group reported HBV testing (p < 0.001). The experimental and control group testing difference remained significant in an intent-to-treat analysis. The experimental group was significantly more likely than the control group to know that Cambodians have higher rates of HBV infection than whites, HBV cannot be spread by eating food prepared by an infected person, HBV cannot be spread by sharing chopsticks, and HBV cannot be spread by shaking hands. Our findings indicate LHW interventions are acceptable to Cambodian Americans and can positively impact both HBV testing and knowledge levels.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant CA134245 from the National Cancer Institute. We thank the Cambodian community leaders who participate in our advisory group for their assistance and advice, as well as the survey interviewers and lay health workers for their outstanding work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, (M3-B232), Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Victoria M. Taylor, Jocelyn Talbot, Channdara Sos & Hoai Do

  2. Department of Health Services, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Roshan Bastani

  3. Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Nancy Burke

  4. Department of Public Health Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Qi Liu & Yutaka Yasui

  5. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    J. Carey Jackson

Authors
  1. Victoria M. Taylor
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  2. Roshan Bastani
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  3. Nancy Burke
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  4. Jocelyn Talbot
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  5. Channdara Sos
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  6. Qi Liu
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  7. Hoai Do
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  8. J. Carey Jackson
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  9. Yutaka Yasui
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Correspondence to Victoria M. Taylor.

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Taylor, V.M., Bastani, R., Burke, N. et al. Evaluation of a Hepatitis B Lay Health Worker Intervention for Cambodian Americans. J Community Health 38, 546–553 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9649-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9649-6

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