142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Evaluation of a Hepatitis C Community Intervention Program for Vietnamese Americans

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Grace X. Ma, PhD , Department of Public Health, Temple University, Center for Asian Health, Philadelphia, PA
Yin Tan, MD, MPH , Department of Public Health, Temple University, Center for Asian Health, Philadelphia, PA
Philip Siu, MD , Chinatown Medical Services, Philadelphia, PA
Xiaoli Ma, MD , Clinical Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Sunmin Lee, ScD, MPH , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD
Background: Hepatitis C is a risk factor for end-stage liver disease and liver cancer and a rising problem for Vietnamese Americans; 1 in 12 Vietnamese-Americans carries the hepatitis C virus. Studies on HCV among Vietnamese American are commonly insufficient.

Objective: This study is to examine the impact of an educational intervention program on HCV knowledge among Vietnamese Americans.

Methods: Vietnamese participants (n=306) were recruited from seven Vietnamese community-based organizations in PA and NJ from 2010 to 2011. The intervention included community involvement, small group education, and referral to medical doctor for HCV screening. The educational session was delivered by a trained Vietnamese bilingual health educator.  Participants’ knowledge about HCV and screening before and post education was measured. 

Results: Out of a total possible score of 10, the average knowledge scores for the pre-test and post-test were 3.32 and 5.88 respectively, with 2.56 as the mean change in scores.  After adjusting for confounding variables, age and higher education were positively associated with higher pre-test scores.  However, participants whose physicians spoke English or Vietnamese were found to have lower pre-test scores (β = -1.00, 95% CI = -1.71-0.28).  After adjusting for confounding variables, household income, education, and having a family member infected with HCV were significantly associated with greater increases in knowledge scores. 

Conclusion: Further health education efforts are needed to improve HCV knowledge among Vietnamese Americans.  Promotion and development of HCV educational programs can help reduce the incidence in HCV-related diseases.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe the factors associated with Hepatitis C knowledge among Vietnamese Americans. Evaluate the effectiveness of using a culturally and linguistically appropriate HCV educational intervention among Vietnamese Americans. Discuss the strategies for future development of HCV educational programs to help reduce the incidence in HCV-related diseases.

Keyword(s): Hepatitis C, Asian Americans

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have extensive experience of working on research projects to prevent hepatitis among Asian Americans (including Vietnamese population), and for this particular study, I came up with study design, data analysis methods, and interpreted data and wrote a manuscript.
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.

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