Differences in Knowledge of Hepatitis B Among Vietnamese, African- American, Hispanic, and White Adolescents in Worcester, Massachusetts

John M. Wiecha

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Table 1.

Characteristics and Knowledge of Hepatitis B Among Middle and High School Students, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1993

	Vietnamese N = 226	White N = 1615	AfricanAmerican N = 263	Hispanic N = 545
Age (y)
12 and younger	8 (3.6)	210 (13.0)	18 (6.9)	64 (11.8)
13–15	92 (41.1)	820 (50.8)	141 (54.0)	346 (63.6)
16–18	74 (33.0)	567 (35.1)	96 (36.8)	121 (22.2)
>19	50 (22.3)	18 (1.1)	6 (2.3)	13 (2.4)
Time in United States (y)
<1	25 (11.2)	14 (.9)	7 (2.7)	24 (4.4)
1–2	43 (19.2)	15 (.9)	11 (4.2)	29 (5.3)
3–5	43 (19.2)	24 (1.5)	19 (7.3)	70 (12.8)
6–9	49 (21.9)	21 (1.3)	12 (4.6)	91 (16.7)
>10	64 (28.6)	1537 (95.4)	211 (81.2)	331 (60.7)
Acculturation—ability to speak English
None	7 (3.1)	8 (.5)	2 (.8)	10 (1.9)
Poor	59 (26.5)	9 (.6)	3 (1.2)	38 (7.0)
Fairly well	86 (38.6)	56 (3.5)	23 (8.9)	113 (20.9)
Very well	71 (31.8)	1534 (95.5)	232 (89.2)	379 (70.2)
Below average school performance	17 (8.4)	163 (10.4)	29 (11.9)	63 (12.7)
Knowledge of definition of hepatitis B
Correct	73 (35.6)	396 (25.4)	52 (21.0)	75 (14.9)
Incorrect	30 (14.6)	209 (13.4)	61 (24.6)	90 (17.9)
Don't know	102 (49.8)	954 (61.2)	135 (54.4)	337 (67.1)
Knowledge of sexual contact as hepatitis B risk factor
Correct	31 (15.0)	583 (37.5)	87 (35.4)	141 (28.0)
Incorrect	60 (29.0)	127 (8.2)	35 (14.2)	67 (13.3)
Don't know	116 (56.0)	846 (54.4)	124 (50.4)	295 (58.7)
Ever had blood test for hepatitis B	81 (36.3)	143 (9.0)	37 (14.5)	64 (12.2)
Household member has ever had hepatitis B	13 (5.9)	43 (2.7)	11 (4.3)	23 (4.4)
Ever taught in school about hepatitis B	48 (24.0)	443 (29.1)	84 (36.2)	132 (27.8)

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Table 2.

Independent Predictors of Knowledge of Definition of Hepatitis B Among Middle and High School Students, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1993

Variable	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	P
Vietnamese	1.52	1.09, 2.12	.014
African-American	.76	.54, 1.07	.113
Hispanic	.55	.42, .74	<.001
White	1.0	—	—
High school student	1.89	1.54, 2.32	<.001
Taught about hepatitis B in school	1.98	1.30, 2.25	<.001
Tested for hepatitis B	1.71	1.32, 2.27	<.001
Male	.80	.66, .97	.022

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Table 3.

Independent Predictors of Knowledge of Sexual Contact as a Risk Factor for Infection with Hepatitis B. Middle and High School Students, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1993

Variable	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	P
Vietnamese	.23	.14, .38	<.001
African-American	.81	.57, 1.13	.209
Hispanic	.72	.55, .95	.018
White	1.0	—	—
Age 16 years or older	1.33	1.04, 1.72	.025
Taught about hepatitis B in school	4.02	3.27, 4.94	<.001
Knew definition of hepatitis B	2.34	1.88, 2.91	<.001
Academic performance^*	.88	.83, .95	<.001
Family member had hepatitis B	1.95	1.15, 3.31	.013
High school student	2.61	2.00, 3.40	<.001
Poor speaking English	.35	.29, .50	.002

↵* Scaled as 7 levels, from “one of the best”, to “near the bottom” compared to other students in respondent's class. O.R. indicates risk associated with change in one level.