Evaluation of a communication program on hepatitis B screening and vaccination among Vietnamese Americans

Background: Vietnamese populations often have a higher prevalence of contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV) than the mainstream population. Yet screening and vaccinating against HBV are not regularly practiced among them. BPSOS, a Vietnamese non-profit organization, carried out a communication program including mass media, printed materials, and one-on-one education to enhance the knowledge of HBV and to promote screening and vaccination practices among Vietnamese Americans. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of BPSOS's program on HBV screening and vaccination in 4 cities: Falls Church, Houston, Camden and Springfield and to examine associations between HBV-related knowledge and HBV screening and vaccination behaviors. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted before and a year after the intervention to assess knowledge of HBV transmission, perceived risk, perceived benefits and HBV screening and vaccination, following the Health Belief Model. We used linear regressions to assess effects of the intervention on knowledge, perceived risk and perceived benefits (continuous variables), and logistic regressions for screening and vaccination behavior (binary variables). Results: After controlling for socio-economic characteristics, family history of cancer, whether one had a family doctor, the study showed that getting health information from BPSOS's program was not associated with increased knowledge of HBV transmission but had a significant effect on increasing perceived risk of HBV (p=0.0123). In addition, the individuals receiving information of HBV from BPSOS's program were 1.455 times more likely to practice HBV screening than those without any information from intervention program. We also found a significant association between knowledge of HBV transmission and HBV vaccination. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that communication programs could be effective in increasing individual HBV-related knowledge and preventive practice in the long term. BPSOS should consider expand programs like this among Vietnamese American communities to promote liver cancer screening and preventive behaviors.