The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
Abstract Details
Knowledge and Behaviors Toward Hepatitis B and the Hepatitis B Vaccine in the Laotian Community in Minnesota
Xiong M, Nguyen RH, Strayer L, Chanthanouvong S, Yuan JM. J Immigr Minor Health. 2013 Jan 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Source
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 1300 S. 2nd Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA, Xiong195@umn.edu.
Abstract
Minnesota is home to a large population of immigrants from Laos as well as one of the largest disparities in hepatitis B (HBV) infection; in Minnesota, Asians are 80 times more likely to be infected than Whites. In response to community concern, a community-based participatory research project was conducted involving a cross-sectional study of 167 adult Laotian immigrants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area assessing knowledge and behaviors related to HBV and its vaccine. Fifty-eight percent of the participants reported not knowing about HBV and just under half incorrectly reported on person-to-person transmission. As expected, vaccination and screening for HBV was more common among those who knew of HBV (p = 0.02 for both). Fourteen (8.4 %) of the participants had been vaccinated, however, only 2 (14.8 %) of those individuals received all three doses. This study outlines gaps in knowledge and resources that could address the staggering HBV disparity in this community.