Community-engaged strategies to promote hepatitis B testing and linkage to care in immigrants of Florida

Jevetta Stanford; Alma Biba; Jagdish Khubchandani; Fern Webb; Mobeen H. Rathore

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2016.06.003

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Volume 6, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 277 - 284

Community-engaged strategies to promote hepatitis B testing and linkage to care in immigrants of Florida

Authors

Jevetta Stanford^a, Alma Biba^a, Jagdish Khubchandani^b^{, *}^,jkhubchandan@bsu.edu, Fern Webb^a, Mobeen H. Rathore^a

^aCollege of Medicine-Jacksonville, University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA

^bDepartment of Nutrition and Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA

^*Corresponding author.

Corresponding Author

Jagdish Khubchandanijkhubchandan@bsu.edu

Received 19 February 2016, Revised 6 June 2016, Accepted 8 June 2016, Available Online 30 June 2016.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Hepatitis B; Immigrants; Community health network; Vaccination; Screening
Abstract: To improve early identification and linkage to treatment and preventive services for hepatitis B virus (HBV) in persons born in countries with intermediate or high (>2%) HBV prevalence, the University of Florida Center for HIV/AIDS Research, Education, and Services (UF CARES) employed community-engaged strategies to implement the Hepatitis B Awareness and Service Linkage (HBASL) program. In this brief report, we present a summary of program components, challenges, and successes. Faith and community-based networks were established to improve HBV testing and screening and to increase foreign born nationals (FBNs) access to HBV care. A total of 1516 FBNs were tested and screened for hepatitis B. The majority were females (50.4%), Asians (62.8%), non-Hispanic (87.2%), and they also received post-test counseling (54.8%). Noted program advantages included the development of community networks and outreach to a large population of FBNs. The major challenges were institutional delays, pressures related to meeting program deliverables, and diversity within FBNs populations. Community health workers in the United States can replicate this program in their respective communities and ensure success by maintaining a strong community presence, establishing partnerships and linkage processes, developing a sustainability plan, and ensuring the presence of dedicated program staff.
Copyright: © 2016 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 6 - 4
Pages: 277 - 284
Publication Date: 2016/06/30
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jevetta Stanford
AU  - Alma Biba
AU  - Jagdish Khubchandani
AU  - Fern Webb
AU  - Mobeen H. Rathore
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/06/30
TI  - Community-engaged strategies to promote hepatitis B testing and linkage to care in immigrants of Florida
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 277
EP  - 284
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2016.06.003
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.06.003
ID  - Stanford2016
ER  -

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