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Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection disproportionately affects Asian Americans but HBV screening rates among Asian American are substantially low. This study examines the impact of multiple recommendations and self-efficacy on HBV screening uptake among Asian Americans. Methods: Data for this study were from 872 Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese recruited for a liver cancer prevention program in the Washington D.C – Baltimore metropolitan area. Results: 410 (47%) respondents reported previous HBV screening. Only 19.8% recalled a physician recommendation. Higher level of HBV screening was reported among people who had physician recommendation, family member recommendation or friend recommendation. Perceived self-efficacy was also an important predictor to HBV screening. The effect of self-efficacy was significant in subgroup analyses among Chinese and Korean, but not for Vietnamese. Conclusion and Global Health Implications: The disproportional prevalence of HBV infection among Asian Americans is considered to be one of the most important health disparities for Asian population. Understanding the condition and screening behavior in this population is especially important. Our findings suggest that recommendation from physician and social networks should be encouraged for HBV screening among Asian Americans. Both recommendation and self-efficacy of HBV screening are important psychosocial constructs to be targeted in liver cancer prevention interventions. Key words: Hepatitis B Virus • Asian Americans • Screening • Recommendation • Self-efficacy Copyright © 2017 Lu et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

IntroductionLittle has been published about racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of overweight among adolescents that accounts in detail for socioeconomic status, acculturation, and behavioral and environmental factors. Increased understanding of factors associated with overweight can provide a rational basis for developing interventions to address the obesity epidemic in the United States.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional analysis of data from adolescents who participated in the California Health Interview Survey 2003, we estimated the prevalence of overweight and at risk of overweight, combined as a single measure (AROW, body mass index ≥85th percentile). We used logistic regression models to examine associations between AROW and risk factors.ResultsTwenty-nine percent of California adolescents were AROW. The prevalence of AROW differed significantly by sex and race. Boys were more likely than girls to be AROW (33% vs 25%). American Indians/Pacific Islanders/others (39%) were at highest risk, followed by Hispanics (37%), blacks (35%), whites (23%), and Asians (15%). For boys, older age, Hispanic or American Indian/Pacific Islander/other race/ethnicity, lower education of parents, and longer residence in the United States were significantly associated with AROW. For girls, Hispanic or black race/ethnicity, lower education of parents, and poor dietary habits were significantly associated with AROW.ConclusionThe high prevalence of AROW among California adolescents in most racial/ethnic groups indicates the need for culturally specific and appropriate interventions to prevent and treat overweight.

IntroductionHispanics are the fastest growing demographic group in the United States; however, “Hispanic” is a broad term that describes people who are from or whose ancestors are from multiple countries of origin. This study examines, separately, the social, cultural, and behavioral factors associated with overweight and obesity among Mexican American adults and among Central American adults. MethodsTo estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Mexican and Central Americans living in California, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey using SUDAAN software to account for the survey’s multistage sampling design.ResultsOf the 8304 Mexican Americans participating in the survey, 36.8% were overweight and 26.2% were obese. Of the 1019 Central Americans, 39.2% were overweight and 22.2% were obese. Among Mexican American men, age and marital status were associated with overweight and obesity; and education, acculturation, health insurance status, health status, and use of vitamins were associated with obesity only. Among Mexican American women, age, education, number of children, health status, and health behavior were associated with overweight and obesity. Among Central American men, age, education, and access to health care were associated with overweight, whereas marital status, acculturation, health care, and binge drinking were associated with obesity. Among Central American women, number of children was associated with overweight and obesity; and age and education were associated with obesity only. ConclusionsOur findings of high rates of overweight and obesity among Mexican and Central Americans in California indicate the need for a wide variety of effective weight-loss interventions targeting these populations, and the differences we found in the factors associated with overweight and obesity may suggest the need for unique intervention strategies for different Hispanic subgroups.

The numbers of Asian American men are continually increasing, yet limited research exists on this understudied population. Addressing this lack of research is necessary to better inform how best to improve quality of care. This study examined health outcome differences across ethnically diverse groups of Asian American men in California, compared with non-Hispanic White men. Using data from the 2007, 2009, and 2011-2012 California Health Interview Survey, distributions of health status and health-related characteristics across ( n = 43,030) racial/ethnic groups of men (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Other Asian Americans, and non-Hispanic Whites) were calculated. Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, odds of reporting fair or poor health were higher among Vietnamese, while odds of diabetes were higher among Korean, Filipino, and Other Asian Americans. Odds of high blood pressure were higher among Filipino and Vietnamese but lower among Other Asian Americans, while odds of disability were lower across all ethnic groups except Filipino and Vietnamese. This study’s findings highlight the importance of understanding ethnic heterogeneity to develop culturally appropriate health interventions for Asian American men.