Test to Protect Family and Self-A Hepatitis B Screening and Care-Linkage Initiative in the Coastal Mississippi Vietnamese Community.

Abstract

Although Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent less than 5% of the U.S. population, they represent approximately half of all people living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). Harrison, Hancock, and Jackson counties are home to the largest portion of Vietnamese individuals in Mississippi, and have high prevalence rates of HBV. Most people living with HBV do not know they are infected. In 2015, Mississippi State Department of Health began a five-year initiative to implement system-level, evidence-based, community-informed strategies to address HBV in the Vietnamese population of Harrison, Hancock, and Jackson Counties of Mississippi's Gulf Coast region. Presented are results from focus groups conducted with the Vietnamese population that define health issues affecting the Vietnamese community, health care services availability, and knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding HBV and screening. Findings from the focus groups were used to develop a culturally and linguistically tailored HBV screening and care-linkage initiative for the prioritized population.