Knowledge, information-seeking, and preventive behaviors regarding H1N1 outbreak in the Chinese Limited English Proficiency (LEP) community in King County, Washington: A brief report

Introduction: We surveyed 100 Chinese LEP individuals between June 2 and June 11, 2009 to understand their responses to the H1N1 outbreak, right before WHO declared a global pandemic to level 6 and the development of an H1N1 vaccine was under way.

Methods: Individual of Chinese ethnicity with self-reported LEP, age 18 or older, who had heard about H1N1 were eligible. Recruitment was performed through a community-based organization.Announcements about the study were made at the beginning of classes, or programs and flyers were posted. Consent was obtained before administering the translated (Chinese)questionnaire.

Results: 73 women and 27 men completed the questionnaire.32% had lived in US less than 5 years and 61% lived with school-age children. Most (84%) knew that H1N1 can be spread from human to human. Many believed there was a treatment for H1N1, and some (43%) thought a vaccine was available. Major channels for H1N1 information included television (81%), Chinese-language newspapers (69%), and community-based organizations (30%). Only 2% obtained information from the public health system or hotline. The most frequently cited sources of information were friends (38%), news reporter (35%), and school personnel (20%). More than half of respondents (67%) said they had taken measures to deal with an outbreak. Few (17%) indicated that they were very worried about an outbreak.

Conclusion: Chinese LEP individuals seemed knowledgeable and prepared for an H1N1 outbreak. However, minimal use of the public health system to obtain H1N1 information suggests that more outreach should be done in the LEP community.