Using Survey Results Regarding Hepatitis B Knowled

Authors: Rita Shiau Fred Bove Jeff Henne Janet Zola Ted Fang Susan Fernyak

Publish Date: 2011/08/27

Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 350-364

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Abstract

Asians are disproportionately affected by chronic hepatitis B HBV infection and its fatal consequences The Hep B Free campaign was launched to eliminate HBV in San Francisco by increasing awareness testing vaccination and linkage to care The campaign conducted 306 street intercept and telephone interviews of San Francisco Asians to assess current levels of HBV knowledge testing behaviors and effectiveness of existing campaign media materials Onethird of respondents ranked HBV as a key health issue in the Asian community second to diabetes General HBV awareness is high 85 however a majority could not name an effective prevention method Sixty percent reported having been tested for HBV provider recommendation was the most often cited reason for testing Respondents reported a high level of trust in their providers to correctly assess which health issues they may be at risk for developing and test accordingly confirming that efforts to increase HBV testing among Asians must simultaneously mobilize the public to request testing and compel providers to test highrisk patients Regarding community awareness more than half reported hearing more about HBV recently younger respondents were more likely to have encountered campaign materials and recall correct HBV facts Assessment of specific campaign materials found that while upbeat images and taglines captured attention and destigmatized HBV messages that emphasize the pervasiveness and deadly consequence of infection were more likely to drive respondents to seek education and testing The campaign used survey results to focus efforts on more intensive provider outreach and to create messages for a new public outreach media campaignResearch support was provided by inkind donations from San Francisco Department of Public Health and a grant from Gilead Sciences We would like to acknowledge the Asian Liver Center for its continued leadership and support of the SF Hep B Free Campaign and evaluation efforts the SF Hep B Free Public Awareness Evaluation Subgroup members Julia Lam Peter Swing Kevin Shi and Ellen Lee and the SFDPH Chronic Hepatitis Surveillance Team members Alex Leung Karen Luk and Martina Li for feedback regarding study design questionnaire review and translation help Ellen T Chang Grace Yoo for reviewing the manuscript and Patrick Thompson and Kevin Connors of the Henne Group for providing details on the sampling scheme

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