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Increasing Viral Hepatitis Knowledge Among Urban Ethnic Minority Youth: Findings from a Community Based Prevention Intervention

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Abstract

Viral hepatitis (VH) knowledge among youth is understudied in the United States. There has been a rise in VH cases in the U.S. in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Innovative approaches to preventing the infection are needed especially in urban communities. This study presents preliminary findings from a community-based HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and VH prevention education intervention for ethnic minority youth in a northeastern urban community. We aimed to evaluate VH knowledge and factors associated with knowledge. Participants in the study completed a baseline survey followed by an exit survey measuring VH knowledge after the intervention. The survey was completed by 691 individuals. Logistic regression analyses were conducted and indicated that there was a significant increase (82.3%) in VH knowledge among youth who participated in the intervention. The development and implementation of VH knowledge interventions can be crucial in alleviating the rise of VH infections in the U.S.

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Funding

The first author was supported by a training grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant No. 5T32 DA07233). The study was funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (Grant No. SP022-19-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA

    Ijeoma Opara

  2. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, USA

    Ijeoma Opara

  3. Department of Individual, Family, and Community Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    David T. Lardier

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    David T. Lardier

  5. Department of Public Health, Montclair State University, Montclair, USA

    Andriana Herrera

  6. Department of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, Montclair, USA

    Pauline Garcia-Reid & Robert J. Reid

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  1. Ijeoma Opara
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Correspondence to Ijeoma Opara.

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Opara, I., Lardier, D.T., Herrera, A. et al. Increasing Viral Hepatitis Knowledge Among Urban Ethnic Minority Youth: Findings from a Community Based Prevention Intervention. J Community Health 45, 269–277 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00740-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00740-8

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