Evaluation of a hepatitis B lay health worker intervention for Chinese Americans and Canadians.
Hepatitis B testing is recommended for immigrants from countries where hepatitis B infection is endemic. However, only about one-half of Chinese in North America have received hepatitis B testing. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a hepatitis B lay health worker intervention for Chinese Americans/Canadians. Four hundred and sixty individuals who had never been tested for hepatitis B were identified from community-based surveys of Chinese conducted in Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. These individuals were randomly assigned to receive a hepatitis B lay health worker intervention or a direct mailing of physical activity educational materials. Follow-up surveys were completed 6 months after randomization. Self-reported hepatitis B testing was verified through medical records review. A total of 319 individuals responded to the follow-up survey (69% response rate). Medical records data verified hepatitis B testing since randomization for 9 (6%) of the 142 experimental group participants and 3 (2%) of the 177 control group participants (P = 0.04). At follow-up, a higher proportion of individuals in the experimental arm than individuals in the control arm knew that hepatitis B can be spread by razors (P < 0.001) and during sexual intercourse (P = 0.07). Our findings suggest that lay health worker interventions can impact hepatitis B-related knowledge. However, our hepatitis B lay health worker intervention had a very limited impact on hepatitis B testing completion. Future research should evaluate other intervention approaches to improving hepatitis B testing rates among Chinese in North America.
Taylor
Vicky M
VM
Cancer Prevention Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. vtaylor@fhcrc.org
Hislop
T Gregory
TG
Tu
Shin-Ping
SP
Teh
Chong
C
Acorda
Elizabeth
E
Yip
Mei-Po
MP
Woodall
Erica
E
Yasui
Yutaka
Y
D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian; D001955:British Columbia; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D024382:Professional Role; D014861:Washington