title: HBV-related health behaviors in a socio-cultural context: perspectives from Khmers and Koreans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to explore factors influencing health and health care within the sociocultural context of Cambodian Americans (CAs or Khmers) and Korean Americans (KA) and to examine intergroup similarities and differences between CAs and KAs, focusing on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and liver cancer prevention behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study used a qualitative design guided by the revised Network Episode Model (NEM) and informed by ethnographic analysis. Focus group interviews with key informants among CA community health leaders (CHLs, n=14) and individual interviews with key informants of KA CHLs (n=9) were audiotaped and transcribed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three categories that influenced HBV and liver cancer prevention emerged from both CAs and KAs: the socio-cultural, individual, and behavioral. Four additional subcategories (sub-themes) of sociocultural were identified as socio-history, socio-medicine, socio-linguistic, and socio-health resources. Both CAs and KAs, however, have low levels of knowledge and significant misunderstandings about HBV infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study identifies and compares the social-cultural determinant for HBV and liver cancer and highlights the factors of education, intercultural communication, and interactions within socio-cultural contexts of CA and KA subgroups. In general, conceptual overlaps are apparent between Khmers (from now on, the terms, CA and Khmer, will be used interchangeably) and Koreans except for the sub-theme of socio-history. However, differences in concept-specific attributes point to the need to account for differing conceptualizations and implications of specific ethnic groups' sociocultural contexts, and to design contextually-relevant outreach and educational interventions for targeted AAPI subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: haeok.lee@umb.edu.
authors.forename: Haeok
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Asian American Studies Program, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kiang
authors.affiliation: Community Outreach in Support of English Language Learners & Families/McKinney Vento Education Liaison, Lowell Public Schools, Lowell, MA.
authors.forename: Phala
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chea
authors.affiliation: Metta Health Center, Lowell, MA.
authors.forename: Sonith
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peou
authors.affiliation: Asian American Studies Program, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shirley S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, Inje University, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jinhwang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fawcett
authors.affiliation: Diversion of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Liver Disease Prevention Center, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Hie-Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002160:Cambodia / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000208:ethnology / Q000451:nursing*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Health behaviors; Hepatitis B; Khmer; Korean; Socio-cultural