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Campaign focuses on reducing HBV in Chinese city

The implementation phase of a cooperative that focuses on public awareness of hepatitis B virus in a city in China has laid vital groundwork, according to recent study results.

The Hepatitis B Foundation joined forces with the Haimen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCCDC) for a 3-year campaign to educate clinicians, civic leaders and the city’s general population of 1 million residents on hepatitis B virus (HBV). Researchers from the Doylestown, Pa.-foundation, including Chari Cohen, MPH, DrPH, said chronic HBV is particularly prominent in Haimen City.

Chari Cohen

“Hepatitis B is still a very big problem, particularly in endemic areas of the world, including China,” Cohen told Healio.com/Hepatology. “In order to reduce the negative impact of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer in affected communities, we need to collaborate to bring awareness and education, particularly to health care providers and patients.”

The foundation and HCCDC initiated the program with officials and clinicians from 23 townships and 239 villages in 2010. The campaign, which also included 5,407 pregnant women, established a goal of reaching all households (n=280,000) in Haimen City.

Platforms included: the importance of being tested for HBV; educational seminars for clinicians to increase their knowledge of the infection, raising awareness of appropriate testing for HBV and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and referral services; and educating obstetrical and perinatal clinicians on evidence-based methods in preventing and managing perinatal HBV.

Long-term impact data of the campaign — assessed and evaluated through interviews, surveys and focus groups — are expected to be completed within 1 to 3 years.

After the campaign ended in 2013, immediate data revealed that 90% of clinicians and health care providers (n=1,441) and 80% of community leaders and local officials (n=1,883) had attended educational seminars. A centralized registration and management system also was developed, and 100% of the pregnant women were registered and screened for HBV during a 1-year period. Of these women, 4.9% were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen, and each infant born received one dose of hepatitis B immunoglobulin and the first dose of HBV vaccine within 24 hours of birth.

“Through improving accurate knowledge and dispelling myths about the disease, we can increase the number of infected individuals who are tested and receive appropriate care to save their lives,” Cohen said.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.