Abstract
Minnesota is home to a large population of immigrants from Laos as well as one of the largest disparities in hepatitis B (HBV) infection; in Minnesota, Asians are 80 times more likely to be infected than Whites. In response to community concern, a community-based participatory research project was conducted involving a cross-sectional study of 167 adult Laotian immigrants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area assessing knowledge and behaviors related to HBV and its vaccine. Fifty-eight percent of the participants reported not knowing about HBV and just under half incorrectly reported on person-to-person transmission. As expected, vaccination and screening for HBV was more common among those who knew of HBV (p = 0.02 for both). Fourteen (8.4 %) of the participants had been vaccinated, however, only 2 (14.8 %) of those individuals received all three doses. This study outlines gaps in knowledge and resources that could address the staggering HBV disparity in this community.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Chongchith Saengsudham, Linda Homsombath, and Jason Chanthanouvong for their assistance with data collection. This project was funded partially by grants from the Center for Southeast Asian Research and Education and National Institutes of Health (R01 CA144034). R.N. was a junior researcher of the training core under ACCHDC U54 CNPC (1U54CA153513-01, PI: Grace Ma) during this study.
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Xiong, M., Nguyen, R.H.N., Strayer, L. et al. Knowledge and Behaviors Toward Hepatitis B and the Hepatitis B Vaccine in the Laotian Community in Minnesota. J Immigrant Minority Health 15, 771–778 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9768-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9768-2