Influence of information sources on hepatitis b screening behavior and relevant psychosocial factors among Asian immigrants

Miho Tanaka, Carol Strong, Sunmin Lee, Hee Soon Juon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines how different information sources relate to Health Belief Model constructs, hepatitis B virus (HBV) knowledge, and HBV screening. The Maryland Asian American Liver Cancer Education Program administered a survey of 877 Asian immigrants. The most common sources of information identified by the multiple-answer questions were newspapers (39.8 %), physicians (39.3 %), friends (33.8 %), TV (31.7 %), and the Internet (29.5 %). Path analyses - controlling for age, sex, educational level, English proficiency, proportion of life in U.S., health insurance coverage, and family history of HBV infection - showed that learning about HBV from physicians had the strongest direct effect; friends had a marginal indirect effect. Perceived risk, benefits, and severity played limited roles in mediation effects. Path analysis results differed by ethnicity. Physician-based HBV screening intervention would be effective, but should be complemented with community health campaigns through popular information sources for the uninsured.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)779-787
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume15
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Asian American
  • Health Belief Model
  • Health information
  • Hepatitis B
  • Screening

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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