Hepatitis B Awareness Campaign in Chinese Americans: A Community Outreach Model to Facilitate Screening and Linkage to Care

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection causes most liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Numerous Chinese-Americans remain unscreened, and many HBV infected individuals are not accessing adequate care. We evaluated the prevalence of chronic HBV infection, patient awareness of infection, and linkage-to-care among Chinese-Americans in northern New Jersey. Screening 898 Chinese Americans revealed 5.5% hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected, 62.7% immune, and 31.8% non-immune. Our study suggests that HBV prevalence among Chinese-American adults may be lower than previously thought, but a large percentage of the population is still at risk for infection. Thirty-one of 49 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seropositive subjects knew of their infections, but only 5 had accessed care. Within 6–20 months after screening education, 25 participants were accessing care. These results demonstrate a need to address possibly inadequate education and other important barriers preventing linkage to care (LTC).