Recorded presentation

Lisa K. Gilbert, PhD¹, Kelli E Scanlon¹, and Brigette Ulin, MPH². (1) American Social Health Association, P.O. Box 13827, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, (919) 361-4809, lisgil@ashastd.org, (2) Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Mailstop G-37, Atlanta, GA 30333

One in five US residents will contract hepatitis A, B and/or C. Compared to older adults, teens and young adults are at increased risk. Baseline levels of hepatitis knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and intentions among teens have not been documented nor have evaluations of teen hepatitis prevention interventions. Therefore, an online educational intervention and evaluation were launched to measure baseline levels and to educate teens about risk factors and prevention strategies. Participants were randomly assigned to a control (n=485) or an intervention (n=323) group. Baseline knowledge was higher than predicted overall, however, teens knew little about vaccines. Also, only about half of the teens were concerned about hepatitis, and many were not vaccinated but were engaging in high-risk behaviors. Further, the baseline data indicated that younger teens and Hispanic youth were most in need of information. Finally, in the intervention group, mean knowledge scores significantly increased from pre-test to post-test. In summary, this online intervention was a unique and effective vehicle to reach teens of all ages, ethnicities and racial backgrounds. Hepatitis prevention programs need to emphasize behaviors such as vaccination and consistent and correct condom use. Future studies need to investigate the longevity of online intervention effects on prevention strategies.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to

• explain baseline levels of teen knowledge, misperceptions, attitudes, intentions and behaviors regarding viral hepatitis prevention;
• plan an effective hepatitis prevention program for teens based on these data;
• duplicate the assessment strategy with other offline or online data collection strategies; and,
• describe the immediate impact of a hepatitis prevention intervention.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Infectious Diseases

Related Web page: www.iwannaknow.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.

Recorded presentation