Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr 10:12:1324336.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1324336. eCollection 2024.

Influence of language barrier and cultural background in hepatitis B disease knowledge in a Chinese community of Spain

Anna Pocurull  1   2 , Cristina Collazos  1 , Anna Miralpeix  1 , Laura Tapias  1 , Tao Wang  1 , María Jose Moreta  1 , Zoe Mariño  1   2 , Sabela Lens  1   2 , Xavier Forns  1   2
Affiliations

Influence of language barrier and cultural background in hepatitis B disease knowledge in a Chinese community of Spain

Anna Pocurull et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B infection (HBV) is prevalent in China. Due to language barriers and cultural differences, it is not always straightforward to evaluate disease knowledge in liver clinics. We aimed to assess the awareness on HBV and its mechanisms of transmission in HBV-infected Chinese patients and their household contacts.

Methods: HBV-infected Chinese patients and their contacts were interviewed by a native Chinese nurse regarding their knowledge on HBV transmission mechanisms, use of preventive measures and vaccination status. Non-Chinese HBV-infected patients and their household contacts served as a control group.

Results: In total 182 patients and 398 contacts participated with 85 (47%) patients and 240 (60%) contacts being from China. Language barrier was reported in 80% of Chinese patients and 44% of their contacts. Knowledge on parenteral and sexual HBV transmission was high in all patients (~90%) but Chinese were more aware of vertical transmission than controls (94% vs. 68%; p < 0.01). Regarding the use of preventive measures, Chinese patients were more forewarned in their use to avoid parenteral transmission (93% vs. 74%, p < 0.01). When assessing household contacts, Chinese used preventive measures more frequently than controls for parenteral and sexual transmission (79% vs. 65 and 81% vs. 48%, p < 0.05). Vaccination coverage was slightly lower in Chinese contacts compared to controls (78% vs. 86%, p = 0.05).

Conclusion: Despite relevant language barriers, Chinese patients are well informed on the mechanisms of HBV transmission. Cultural differences may explain a higher use of preventive measures among the Chinese population. HBV vaccination of household contacts should be reinforced in both groups.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis B; cultural background; hepatitis B knowledge; hepatitis B vaccination; language barrier.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

XF has acted as advisor for Gilead. SL and ZM has received fees for lectures and consulting from Gilead, Abbvie, Orphalan, Alexion and Deep Genomics, and a research grant from Gilead. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Shepard CW, Simard EP, Finelli L, Fiore AE, Bell BP. Hepatitis B virus infection: epidemiology and vaccination. Epidemiol Rev. (2006) 28:112–25. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxj009 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . (2007). Global hepatitis report. Available at:https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565455
    1. van Damme P, Cramm M, van der Auwera JC, Meheus A, Vranckx R. Horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus. Lancet. (1995) 345:27–9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(95)91155-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yao GB. Importance of perinatal versus horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus infection in China. Gut. (1996) 38:S39–42. doi: 10.1136/gut.38.Suppl_2.S39, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Maddrey WC. Hepatitis B: an important public health issue. J Med Virol. (2000) 61:362–6. doi: 10.1002/1096-9071(200007)61:3<362::AID-JMV14>3.0.CO;2-I - DOI - PubMed

Publication types