B Free CEED: Incorporating community-based and policy-level approaches to eliminate hepatitis B disparities in Asian & Pacific Islander populations

Hepatitis B (HBV) is recognized as a major health disparity in Asian Pacific Islanders (API), affecting an estimated 10-15% of APIs nationally compared to 0.3% of the general U.S. population. HBV primary affects the most vulnerable group of recent immigrants from East and Southeast Asia where infection is endemic and vaccinations have not been widely available. Community-based approaches have contributed significantly to address this health disparity. To maximize impact and affect change, however, local community-based efforts need to be coupled with policy and systems-level change. In 2007, the Center for the Study of Asian American Health, NYU School of Medicine and its partner coalition (e.g., community-based organizations, health clinics, and hospitals), was one of eighteen sites designated a CDC Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Disparities. The mission of B Free CEED is to serve as a national resource and expert center on the elimination of HBV disparities among APIs through the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices and activities. Using a community-based participatory approach, the B Free CEED partnership employs a multi-level, trans-disciplinary approach to address HBV-related disparities. Strategies and lessons learned on its initiatives focusing “upstream” including working with local policy makers, building advocacy coalitions, and efforts to affect systems-level change will be shared. Specifically, B Free CEED's work to conduct and analyze data to develop innovative policy recommendations, its collaboration with a local department of health to support programmatic and institutional change, and the evaluation of existing programs to identify best practices will be highlighted.