scholarly journals Efficacy of a Mobile Texting App (HepTalk) in Encouraging Patient Participation in Viral Hepatitis B Care: Development and Cohort Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chul Hyun ◽  
Joseph McMenamin ◽  
Okhyun Ko ◽  
Soonsik Kim
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Patient Engagement ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Navigators ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Chronic Hepatitis B Virus

BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality among Asian Americans in the United States. Despite the available resources, a majority of HBV-infected individuals are not able to access adequate health care owing to numerous barriers. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a newly developed mobile texting app (<i>HepTalk</i>) in overcoming these barriers and improving patient engagement and health care access among HBV-infected and nonimmune individuals. METHODS <i>HepTalk</i> was employed for two-way communication between participants and patient navigators. A total of 82 Korean American participants who were either HBV infected or nonimmune to HBV, identified from a community hepatitis B campaign in New York, were enrolled in the study. After informed consent was obtained, both the frequency and themes of the text messages were evaluated. The effects of this communication on linkage to care at the end of the 6-month intervention period were analyzed and discussed. RESULTS On average, patient navigators sent and received 14 and 8 messages per participant, respectively, during the 6-month period. The themes of the messages were similar to the following 4 categories: finding providers, scheduling appointments with providers, health education, and financial issues. Of the 82 participants, 78 were linked to care within 6 months (a 95% linkage rate). CONCLUSIONS <i>HepTalk</i> may be employed as an effective and strategic tool to facilitate communicative interaction between patients and patient navigators or health care providers, thereby improving patient engagement and health care access.

scholarly journals Efficacy of a Mobile Texting App (HepTalk) in Encouraging Patient Participation in Viral Hepatitis B Care: Development and Cohort Study

10.2196/15098 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e15098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chul Hyun ◽  
Joseph McMenamin ◽  
Okhyun Ko ◽  
Soonsik Kim
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Patient Engagement ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Navigators ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Chronic Hepatitis B Virus

Background Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality among Asian Americans in the United States. Despite the available resources, a majority of HBV-infected individuals are not able to access adequate health care owing to numerous barriers. Objective This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a newly developed mobile texting app (HepTalk) in overcoming these barriers and improving patient engagement and health care access among HBV-infected and nonimmune individuals. Methods HepTalk was employed for two-way communication between participants and patient navigators. A total of 82 Korean American participants who were either HBV infected or nonimmune to HBV, identified from a community hepatitis B campaign in New York, were enrolled in the study. After informed consent was obtained, both the frequency and themes of the text messages were evaluated. The effects of this communication on linkage to care at the end of the 6-month intervention period were analyzed and discussed. Results On average, patient navigators sent and received 14 and 8 messages per participant, respectively, during the 6-month period. The themes of the messages were similar to the following 4 categories: finding providers, scheduling appointments with providers, health education, and financial issues. Of the 82 participants, 78 were linked to care within 6 months (a 95% linkage rate). Conclusions HepTalk may be employed as an effective and strategic tool to facilitate communicative interaction between patients and patient navigators or health care providers, thereby improving patient engagement and health care access.

scholarly journals Understanding Barriers and Knowledge Related to Hepatitis B for Vietnamese Nail Salon Workers in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Freeland ◽  
Tran Huynh ◽  
Nga Vu ◽  
Tracy Nguyen ◽  
Chari Cohen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Health Belief ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Nail Salon ◽  
Belief Model ◽  
Nail Salon Workers

In the United States (U.S.), up to 2.2 million individuals have been chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Many nail salon workers are at risk for HBV as they are coming from high-risk and traditionally underserved communities. To understand barriers and knowledge associated with HBV in the Vietnamese nail salon community, the Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to qualitatively assess the health needs for the prevention of HBV among Vietnamese nail salon workers through focus groups and interviews. Results revealed several themes that highlight barriers within the Vietnamese nail community. Major themes were the lack of knowledge related to hepatitis B, including significant misconceptions related to symptoms, and how hepatitis B is transmitted and prevented. There were also several barriers to health care access within the Vietnamese nail community including the cost of health care, long work hours, lack of insurance and lack of understanding of current community resources. Additionally, discrimination and stigma related to those infected with hepatitis B emerged as a theme from this data. Those interviewed also noted that the nail training and licensing they received did not highlight hepatitis B and other infectious diseases that can be spread within the nail salon.

scholarly journals Barriers to Hepatitis B Screening and Prevention for African Immigrant Populations in the United States: A Qualitative Study

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Freeland ◽  
Sierra Bodor ◽  
Udara Perera ◽  
Chari Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Screening Practice ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Hbv Screening ◽  
The U.S

Chronic hepatitis B infection (HBV) disproportionately affects African Immigrant (AI) communities in the U.S., with a reported infection rate of 15%. HBV screening rates within these communities are low. This study sought to better understand the socio-cultural determinants associated with low HBV screening among AI communities and identify potential strategies to help inform the development of effective HBV education and screening interventions. Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted with community health experts working in AI communities throughout the U.S. Interviews explored the potential impact of culture, perception of health, awareness of HBV, religious practices, current screening practice, provider relationship, and behaviors towards general prevention. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Religious preferences and cultural norms affect health care access, perceptions towards prevention, awareness of HBV, and contribute to myths and stigma within this population. Participants reported a lack of HBV knowledge and awareness and barriers to health care access including, cost, language, racism, understanding of Western Medicine, and usage of traditional medicine. This study elucidates the role of religious and cultural beliefs as barriers to HBV screening and care. Results can contribute to public health efforts to increase awareness, screening and vaccination efforts within AI communities.

Human rights-based conceptions of deservingness: health and precarity

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-292
Author(s):  
Sarah Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Migrant Health ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Health Related

Purpose Ideas of health-related deservingness in theory and practise have largely been attached to humanitarian notions of compassion and care for vulnerable persons, in contrast to rights-based approaches involving a moral-legal obligation to care based on universal citizenship principles. This paper aims to provide an alternative to these frames, seeking to explore ideas of a human rights-based deservingness framework to understand health care access and entitlement amongst precarious status persons in Canada. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from theoretical conceptualizations of deservingness, this paper aims to bring deservingness frameworks into the language of human rights discourses as these ideas relate to inequalities based on noncitizenship. Findings Deservingness frameworks have been used in public discourses to both perpetuate and diminish health-related inequalities around access and entitlement. Although, movements based on human rights have the potential to be co-opted and used to re-frame precarious status migrants as “undeserving”, movements driven by frames of human rights-based deservingness can subvert these dominant, negative discourses. Originality/value To date, deservingness theory has primarily been used to speak to issues relating to deservingness to welfare services. In relation to deservingness and precarious status migrants, much of the literature focuses on humanitarian notions of the “deserving” migrant. Health-related deservingness based on human rights has been under-theorized in the literature and the authors can learn from activist movements, precarious status migrants and health care providers that have taken on this approach to mobilize for rights based on being “human”.

State-Level Sexism and Women’s Health Care Access in the United States: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, 2014–2019

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e10
Author(s):  
Kristen Schorpp Rapp ◽  
Vanessa V. Volpe ◽  
Hannah Neukrug
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Hispanic Women ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Barriers To Health Care ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Barriers To Health

Objectives. To quantify racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between state-level sexism and barriers to health care access among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women in the United States. Methods. We merged a multidimensional state-level sexism index compiled from administrative data with the national Consumer Survey of Health Care Access (2014–2019; n = 10 898) to test associations between exposure to state-level sexism and barriers to access, availability, and affordability of health care. Results. Greater exposure to state-level sexism was associated with more barriers to health care access among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women, but not non-Hispanic White women. Affordability barriers (cost of medical bills, health insurance, prescriptions, and tests) appeared to drive these associations. More frequent need for care exacerbated the relationship between state-level sexism and barriers to care for Hispanic women. Conclusions. The relationship between state-level sexism and women’s barriers to health care access differs by race/ethnicity and frequency of needing care. Public Health Implications. State-level policies may be used strategically to promote health care equity at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 2, 2021: e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306455 )

Sexually Transmitted Infections in the U.S. Military: A Sexual Health Paradigm to Address Risk Behaviors, Unintended Pregnancy, Alcohol Use, and Sexual Trauma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherrie B Boyer ◽  
Charlotte A Gaydos ◽  
Amy B Geller ◽  
Eric C Garges ◽  
Sten H Vermund
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Universal Health Care ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
The Military ◽  
Universal Health

ABSTRACT To address the ongoing epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) conducted a consensus study on STI control and prevention in the United States to provide recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of County and City Health Officials. The culminating report identified military personnel as one of the priority groups that require special consideration given the high prevalence of STIs and their associated behaviors (e.g., concurrent sexual partners and infrequent condom use) that occur during active duty service. Universal health care access, the relative ease and frequency of STI screening, and the educational opportunities within the military are all assets in STI control and prevention. The report offers a comprehensive framework on multiple and interrelated influences on STI risk, prevention, health care access, delivery, and treatment. It also provides an overview of the multilevel risk and protective factors associated with STIs that could be applied using a sexual health paradigm. The military context must integrate the multilevel domains of influences to guide the effort to fill current gaps and research needs. The Department of Defense, with its large clinical and preventive medicine workforce and its well-established universal health care system, is well positioned to enact changes to shift its current approach to STI prevention, treatment, and control. STI control based on highlighting behavioral, social, cultural, and environmental influences on service members’ sexual health and wellness may well drive better STI care and prevention outcomes.

scholarly journals The Role of Immigration in the Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Jane J. Lee ◽  
Hyun-Jun Kim ◽  
Karen Fredriksen Goldsen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) aging research is growing around the globe. Yet, few studies have examined the interconnectedness of different populations and cultures. This study examines whether LGBT foreign-born older adults experience greater health disparities than their U.S.-born counterparts. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study: Aging with Pride from 2014, which assessed measures of health and well-being among LGBT adults aged 50 years and older ( n = 2,441). We compared sociodemographic characteristics, health-care access, health behaviors, and health outcomes between foreign-born and U.S.-born participants. Foreign-born LGBT older adults reported greater socioeconomic disadvantage and higher levels of experiencing barriers to health-care access than U.S.-born LGBT older adults. Groups did not significantly differ in health behaviors and health outcomes when controlling for sociodemographic factors. Greater understanding of the mechanisms that shape the relationship between migration and health among the LGBT population is warranted.

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