245989 Effect of culturally-tailored liver cancer education program on hepatitis B screening behavior in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hee-Soon Juon, PhD , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Carol Strong , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Sunmin Lee, ScD, MPH , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD
Gregory Kirk, MD, MPH, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Janice V. Bowie, PhD, MPH , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Background: Asian Americans have the highest prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection that leads to significant liver cancer disparities. However, their prevalence of HBV screening remains low due to barriers to access health care and lack of knowledge. We developed a culturally-tailored liver cancer education program to encourage HBV screening in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans (CKV-As).

Purpose: We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally-tailored liver cancer education program in assessing the level of hepatitis B knowledge and HBV screening behaviors within 6-month posttest period.

Methods: A total of 877 CKV-As aged 18 and above were recruited from community-based organizations in Maryland and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received our culturally-tailored education program, while the control group received an English-language brochure. Six months after the program, participants were phone-interviewed about their screening behavior during this period.

Results: About 78.5% of 877 participants completed the posttest. The intervention group showed higher rates of hepatitis B screening within 6 months, compared to the control group (33.6% vs. 9.7%, p<0.01). Comparing knowledge of HBV transmission mode (0-10), the intervention group also showed significantly higher scores than controls in posttest (7.21 vs. 5.54, p<0.01). There were ethnic differences in knowledge of transmission mode (0-10) in the posttest: The Vietnamese intervention group (7.75±1.56) reported the highest scores followed by Chinese (7.64±1.71) and Korean (6.34±1.86) intervention groups.

Conclusion: It is essential to implement culturally-tailored education programs to increase liver cancer awareness for underserved, non-English speaking Asian populations.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
1. Recognize the effectiveness of employing a culturally-tailored liver cancer education program, compared to traditional hepatitis B education material for Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans 2. Differentiate the improvement of hepatitis B screening prevalence and knowledge among Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans

Keywords: Asian Americans, Hepatitis B

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of the project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Secondary Prevention Research and Practice in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities
See more of: Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health