Hepatitis B infections are a serious threat to children and youth, especially those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (APIA) communities. Florida mandated Hepatitis B immunization for all students beginning in the 1997-98 school year. The goal of this project was to evaluate the impact of Florida's mandatory Hepatitis B vaccination law on the immunization status of APIA students in Alachua county. Specifically, we (1)compared the differences of hepatitis B immunization rate between 7th, 8th, 9th grade and 10th, 11th, 12th grade students, and (2) assessed knowledge of and attitudes towards Hepatitis B vaccination of parents of APIA students. A door-to-door survey was conducted among APIA students living in county. Four student interviewers were recruited and trained to do the interviews. Hepatitis B educational materials were available in English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino were distributed. Forty-seven percent of the students (n=55) were born in the U.S.A. As expected by state mandate, significantly more 7th , 8th , and 9th graders were immunized compared to 10th , 11th , and 12th graders (X2=137.50, p <0.0001). The majority of students in the 7th , 8th , and 9th graders had received all three hepatitis B vaccines, 97%, 94%, and 94% respectively. Likewise, we expected a low percentage of 10th , 11th , and 12th graders received all three vaccines, 7%, 27%, and 15%, respectively. Other results from the study will be presented as well as our experience in doing door-to-door immunization studies.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe why APIAs are at high risk for Hepatitis B. 2. Outline the specific aspects of Florida mandated Hepatitis B immunization program. 3. Recognize the benefits and limitations of conducting door-to-door immunization studies in APIA populations.
Keywords: Asian and Pacific Islander, Immunizations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.