Hepatitis B (HBV) infection plays a primary role in the development of liver cancer, contributing to nearly 80% of liver cancer cases. Vietnamese males have the highest incidence of liver cancer of any ethnic group, and HBV infection is a serious and prevalent health problem among Vietnamese immigrants. Guided by the Health Belief Model framework, the purpose of the present study was to assess levels of perceived risk, severity, barriers and benefits, and cues to action in HBV screening and vaccination in relation to actual screening and vaccination behavior in a sample of Vietnamese adults. The study consisted of 359 Vietnamese adults residing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The majority of participants were immigrants (98.1%) and had low socio-economic and educational status. Only 8.8% of participants reported being screened and 7.3% vaccinated for HBV. Participants who had been screened reported feeling at higher risk and perceived HBV infection to be more likely to lead to liver cancer and death than those who had not been screened. In addition, participants who had been screened reported fewer perceived barriers 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. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that perceived barriers were negatively associated with screening behavior as well as vaccination behavior. These results suggest that community-based, culturally appropriate interventions for Vietnamese Americans should directly address barriers to screening and vaccination in order to enhance screening and vaccination rates in this underserved population.

Objectives: To determine differences in screening for routine physical exam and cancers among Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Cambodian Americans. Methods: The sample consisted of 2011 participants. Chi square was used to identify relationships between demographic/acculturation factors and screenings. Results: Never­screened rates were high for all Asian subgroups. Never-screened rates for mammography ranged from 20.1% to 78.5%; for Pap test, 28% to 75.6%; for prostate cancer, 56.7% to 97%; for colorectal cancer, 65.3% to 94.9%. Koreans had the highest never screened for health checkups (34.7%). Conclusions: Efforts should be made to comply with screening guidelines among Asian Americans.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a serious health problem among Asian Americans. Vietnamese Americans are disproportionately affected by liver cancer compared with other racial and ethnic groups. Vietnamese males have the highest incidence of liver cancer of any racial group; incidence of liver cancer among Vietnamese males is 11 times higher than among White males. Nearly 80% of liver cancer is attributed to HBV. This study measured knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HBV screening and vaccination. The study was conducted among 256 Vietnamese Americans in the greater Philadelphia and New Jersey area, with a large number of underserved, recent immigrants with low socioeconomic status and limited English proficiency. Participants were recruited from Vietnamese community-based organizations. Overall, 46.3% of the sample had heard of HBV or knew about the availability of screening (32.6%) or vaccination (35.5%) while 7.5% were ever screened and 6.3% had been vaccinated. Community-based, culturally appropriate interventions for Vietnamese Americans and health care providers should increase screening and vaccination rates.

The relationship between acculturation and smoking behavior was examined in four Asian-American groups that included recent immigrants and US-born Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodians residing in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The study was part of a community-based, comprehensive cross-sectional study designed to assess a broad array of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors on tobacco use and tobacco-related cancer issues in the target multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Asian-American community. The sample of 1374 respondents was selected using a stratified-cluster proportional sampling technique, with a response rate of 83%. Findings indicated that acculturation had a variable effect on smoking behavior: more acculturated youth and less acculturated male adults had higher smoking rates than the less acculturated youth and the more acculturated male adults. Smoking rates for all females were generally lower than those of males regardless of acculturation status; however, acculturated adult females had a higher smoking rate than the less acculturated.