title: Determinants of suboptimal hepatitis B vaccine uptake among men in the Republic of Korea: where should our efforts be focused: results from cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver cancer is the second most-frequent cause of cancer death in Korea. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of liver cancer, and this disease is effectively prevented by HBV vaccination. This study was conducted to investigate factors associated with the lack of HBV vaccine uptake in the general adult male population in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of men who participated in a nationwide cross-sectional interview survey were analyzed. A total of 2,174 men 40 years of age and older were interviewed between 2006 and 2008. None of the participants was infected with HBV or was experiencing sequelae of an HBV infection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only half (50.4%) of the men received one or more dose of the three-dose series of HBV vaccinations, and 32.5% received all three doses. Compared with men who had completed the vaccination regimen, non-vaccinated men were more likely to lack supplemental medical insurance for cancer (odds ratio = 0.66, 95% confidence interval: 0.52-0.84), have lower incomes (p-trend = 0.010), and be less educated (p-trend = 0.021). Lower education was also more prevalent in the non-vaccinated group compared with the incompletely vaccinated group. Those who had completed the vaccination regimen were likely to be more educated than those in the incompletely vaccinated group (p-trend = 0.044). The most commonly cited reason for not obtaining the HBV vaccine was lack of knowledge regarding the need for the vaccination. The number of men who cited this reason decreased as a function of education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important to develop strategic interventions targeted at less-educated men to increase uptake of a complete three-dose series of HBV vaccinations as a primary approach to preventing liver cancer.
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Centre, 323 Ilsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, Korea.
authors.forename: Boyoung
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kui Son
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hoo-Yeon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min-Son
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Jae Kwan
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Eun-Cheol
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D008113:Liver Neoplasms; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines