title: Student leadership in public health advocacy: lessons learned from the hepatitis B initiative.
abstract: Increasing hepatitis B vaccination rates for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is a priority. Laws requiring vaccination prior to school enrollment have helped, yet many youths remain unvaccinated. The Hepatitis B Initiative (HBI), launched in 1997 and operated by public health and medical school students, provides free screenings and vaccinations to Boston's Asian American/Pacific Islander community, with a focus on youths. By October 2002, 997 HBI patients from Boston's Chinatown had received free hepatitis B screenings. Of these, 384 patients (39%) were deemed susceptible to the hepatitis B virus and provided with free vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: DeJong
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hsia
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ryou
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian; D001900:Boston; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D006266:Health Education; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000600:supply & distribution; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007857:Leadership; D015980:Public Health Practice; D013337:Students, Medical; D040443:Students, Public Health; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014838:Volunteers
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines