Factors influencing a communitywide campaign to administer hepatitis A vaccine to men who have sex with men.
OBJECTIVE
A hepatitis A outbreak among men who have sex with men (MSM) led to a publicly funded vaccination campaign. We evaluated the MSM community's response.


METHODS
A cohort of MSM from 5 community sites was surveyed.


RESULTS
Thirty-four (19%) of 178 potential vaccine candidates received the vaccine during the campaign. We found a linear relation between the number of exposures to campaign information and the likelihood of vaccination (P < .001). Vaccination was independently associated with awareness of the outbreak and the vaccine, having had sexual relations with men for 12 years or longer, having recently consulted a physician, and routinely reading a local gay newspaper.


CONCLUSIONS
The difficult task of vaccinating MSM can be aided by repetitive promotional messages, especially via the gay media.
Friedman
M S
MS
Georgia Division of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta 30333, USA. mff7@cdc.gov
Blake
P A
PA
Koehler
J E
JE
Hutwagner
L C
LC
Toomey
K E
KE
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D008875:Middle Aged; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014504:Urban Health
D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines