Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for over half of the 1.3 million chronic Hepatitis B cases and deaths from Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the U.S. This excess risk can be attributed to high rates of HBV infection (particularly among first generation immigrants), in combination with low rates of HBV screening and vaccination due to cultural, linguistic, and financial barriers. Because of these combined risk factors, Asian Americans are often diagnosed with late stage cancer, resulting in low survival rates and high mortality rates. In response to this cancer-related health disparity, this project seeks to develop and implement educational programs to promote HBV screening and increase awareness of liver cancer prevention of Asian Americans in Maryland.
The specific aims are to: 1) Develop educational strategies tailored to the needs of target communities to increase public awareness of liver cancer prevention;2) Implement theory-driven and culturally integrated community-based cancer intervention programs;and 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the educational intervention on hepatitis B and liver cancer awareness and HBV screening behavior. Using a randomized control design, a total 900 Asian Americans (300 Vietnamese, Koreans, and Chinese each) age 18 and older will be recruited from 12 community-based organizations (CBO). Each CBO will be randomly assigned to either an intervention (n=6) or control group (n=6). Eligible participants will complete a survey and those in the intervention groups will participate in an educational program. An immediate post survey will be issued to examine the effects of the intervention on intention to obtain HBV screening. Participants will be telephone interviewed 6 months after the intervention to assess actual screening practice. Those in the control group will receive a delayed intervention after the posttest. The insights gained from this proposed liver cancer education program will be valuable in implementing cancer intervention programs for other high risk non-English speaking populations, including economically disadvantaged minorities and will address health disparities in immigrant populations.
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