In the July issue of the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Ma surveyed 359 Vietnamese adults residing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey about their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to HBV screening and vaccination. Only 8.8 percent of participants reported being screened and 7.3 percent reported being vaccinated for HBV. The majority of participants were immigrants (98.1 percent) and had low socio-economic and educational status.
“The paper is a wake-up call of what is needed for the community. We need to obtain more resources for this population,” Ma said.
Currently, Anny Pham, B.A., M.S.W., the Center for Asian Health’s Southeast Asian community coordinator, speaks to the community partners in places like churches to promote and provide free screening and vaccination. The program also facilitates treatment to those who already have HBV to prevent it from further progression.
“Vietnamese don’t like to talk about their health. You need to respect them and not be too forceful,” said Pham, who is Vietnamese American.
The center’s staff delivers presentations in Vietnamese, makes sure to understand customs such as taking off shoes before entering a Buddhist temple, and gains support from religious leaders.
They’ve also worked with residents like Lam Chung, who immigrated seven years ago, to help him get treatment for HBV.
Chung, a recent retiree, said demanding work schedules prevent many new immigrants from taking the time to learn more about their health. It wasn’t until the CAH outreach program that he decided to get a blood test.
Ma’s study found that participants who had been screened reported feeling at higher risk and perceived HBV infection to be more likely to lead to liver cancer than those who had not been screened. In addition, participants who had been screened reported fewer perceived barriers to getting care and more cues to action than unscreened participants.
Compared to participants who had been vaccinated, unvaccinated participants were more likely to report feeling healthy and a lack of knowledge about where to obtain HBV testing as barriers.
“Education, prevention and intervention are the keys in reducing this health disparity,” Ma said.
Preliminary results show promising data about the increase in HBV screening among Vietnamese Americans. The data will be reported in future studies.
“We seek input from the community; we listen to their needs. We fit ourselves into their schedules,” Ma said.
This project was partially supported by a grant to Grace X. Ma from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. |
