"Know Hepatitis B:" A Multilingual Communications Campaign Promoting Testing for Hepatitis B Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The "Know Hepatitis B" campaign was the first national, multilingual communications campaign to promote testing for hepatitis B virus (HBV) among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). This population comprises fewer than 5% of the total U.S. population but accounts for more than half of the up to 1.4 million Americans living with chronic HBV infection. To address this health disparity with a national campaign, CDC partnered with Hep B United, a national coalition of community-based partners working to educate AAPIs about hepatitis B and the need for testing. Guided by formative research, the "Know Hepatitis B" campaign was implemented in 2013 with a two-pronged communications strategy. CDC used available Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese media outlets on a national level and relied on Hep B United to incorporate campaign materials into educational efforts at the local level. This partnership helped facilitate HBV testing among the priority population.

Eradication of hepatitis B: a nationwide community coalition approach to improving vaccination, screening, and linkage to care.

Infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a significant public health concern in the US, disproportionately affecting Americans of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent, despite the availability of a simple blood test, approved treatments, and an effective vaccine. Hep B United, a national campaign to support and leverage the success of community-based HBV coalitions, convened a partner summit in 2012 to develop a strategic response to the HHS Action Plan for the Prevention, Care, and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis. The resulting community action plan focuses on advancing three areas of the HHS plan: educating providers and communities to reduce health disparities; improving testing and linkage to care to prevent HBV-related liver disease and cancer; and eliminating perinatal HBV transmission.

Hepatitis B prevention and care for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders at community health centers.

INTRODUCTION: A needs assessment was conducted of hepatitis B education, screening, vaccination, and care within community health centers (CHCs) serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. METHODS: Written surveys were administered to health education directors from 13 CHCs and 75 medical providers from 14 CHCs in the U.S. and affiliated Pacific Islands. RESULTS: Although hepatitis B is within the mission of CHCs and clients are screened regardless of insurance status, little financial or staffing resources are dedicated to hepatitis B services. Lack of funding is considered the greatest barrier. Better coordination between HBV prevention and primary and specialty medical services is needed. DISCUSSION: HBV cross-training for providers and allied staff, particularly around identification and screening of high risk groups and case management, would greatly enhance services along with additional funding. Findings support national hepatitis B strategy recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine and Office of Minority Health.

Use of enabling services by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander patients at 4 community health centers.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the utilization and impact of enabling services, such as interpretation and eligibility assistance, among underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander (AANHOPI) patients served at 4 community health centers. METHODS: For this project, we developed a uniform model for collecting data on enabling services and implemented it across 4 health centers that served primarily AANHOPI patients. We also examined differences in patient characteristics between users and nonusers of enabling services. RESULTS: Health center patients used many enabling services, with eligibility assistance being the most used service. In addition, compared with nonusers, users of enabling services were more likely to be older, female, AANHOPI, and uninsured (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: For underserved AANHOPI patients at community health centers, enabling services are critical for access to appropriate care. We were the first to examine uniform data on enabling services across multiple health centers serving underserved AANHOPI patients. More data on enabling services and evaluation are needed to develop interventions to improve the quality of care for underserved AANHOPI patients.

Primary health-care delivery gaps among medically underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander populations.

OBJECTIVES: Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) historically have faced multiple social and racial/ethnic health disparities in the United States. We gathered national-level health-care data on AAPIs and examined medically underserved health service areas for them. METHODS: We used 2000 U.S. Census data and the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) 2004 dataset for primary care physician full-time equivalents per 1000 population, as well as AAPI population, AAPI poverty, and AAPI limited English proficiency, to develop an index of medically underserved AAPI counties (MUACs). The index identifies U.S. counties that do not adequately serve AAPIs. RESULTS: We identified 266 counties of medically underserved health service areas for AAPIs across the nation, representing 12% of all U.S. counties. One hundred thirty-eight (52%) MUACs were not designated as BPHC medically underserved counties. Of these counties, 20 (14%) had an AAPI population of at least 10,000, and 29 (21%) had an AAPI population of at least 5000. CONCLUSION: This project complements federal efforts to identify medically underserved health service areas and identifies U.S. counties that need new or expanded health services for medically underserved AAPIs.