Hepatitis B Knowledge and Information Among a Community Sample of Vietnamese Immigrants Living in Northern Virginia

Introduction: Hepatitis B (HBV), a major health disparity in Asian Pacific Islander (API) populations, disproportionately affects one of the most vulnerable and under-privileged groups of recent immigrants from Southeast Asia – Vietnamese immigrants. Untreated HBV causes 80% of all liver cancers. Treatment of HBV can deter illness and death. New infections can be prevented through vaccination. Simple, targeted messages to raise awareness and encourage screening and vaccination in Asian immigrant subgroups is warranted; however, only limited data on HBV knowledge or preferred sources for receiving health information exists for high risk groups such as the Vietnamese immigrant community.

Methods: Vietnamese immigrants (n=502) living in Northern Virginia participated in a community-based survey using a convenience sample to assess knowledge of hepatitis B, reasons to get screened, and preferred channels for receiving and accessing health information.

Results: Of the participants, 62.6% have been screened and 14.7% reported being diagnosed with HBV. Of the close to 40% of individuals who had not be screened, almost half indicated “feeling well” and “no health insurance” as main reasons for not getting screened. Furthermore, these unscreened respondents were more likely to answer transmission questions incorrectly. Almost 30% vs. 25% of total respondents believed HBV is transmitted through unclean food and 36% vs. 41% correctly identified vaginal delivery as a source of infection.

Conclusions: Among this community-based sample, a high percentage reported HBV infection and low levels of awareness of HBV transmission especially among the unscreened respondents.