Improving hepatitis B immunization among high-risk adolescents: a low-cost intervention on the Mexico-United States border Mejores prácticas de inmunización anti-hepatitis B para adolescentes en alto riesgo: intervención de bajo costo en la frontera mexicano-estadounidense

• Main Authors: Kathleen M. O'Rourke, Thomas E. Redlinger, Andrea M. Steege
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2001
• Subjects: Hepatitis B; vaccination; adolescents; Texas; Mexican-Americans; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/2f9745ba2b9d46e4b6147e3fbbf43a93

Objective. To analyze factors associated with hepatitis B immunization adherence among adolescents attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in El Paso, a city in Texas that is on the border between Mexico and the United States of America. Methods. In this cohort study with 248 adolescents we obtained data on demographics and health beliefs through personal interviews and medical record abstraction. We monitored each of the individuals for 8 months to determine whether the adolescents received a first, second, and third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Results. Overall, 32% of the adolescents received the first immunization, 9% the second, and 2% the third. The strongest predictor of receiving either one or two doses was providing the vaccine at the STD clinic as opposed to referring adolescents to a separate vaccination clinic (relative risk (RR) for receiving the first immunization = 7.3; RR for receiving the second immunization = 3.8). Several health beliefs were also associated with receiving vaccinations. Conclusions. The results of our study indicate that hepatitis B vaccination programs can be improved through such steps as providing vaccinations at a convenient site, educating adolescents about hepatitis B risk factors, and emphasizing the difficulty of treating hepatitis B infection. Objetivo. Analizar los factores asociados con el cumplimiento de la inmunización anti-hepatitis B entre adolescentes que acuden a una clínica para el tratamiento de las enfermedades de transmisión sexual (ETS) en El Paso, ciudad de Texas en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos de América. Métodos. En este estudio de cohorte que se realizó en 248 adolescentes, obtuvimos datos demográficos y sondeamos las creencias de los jóvenes en torno a la salud mediante entrevistas personales y datos extractados de expedientes clínicos. Se vigiló a cada persona durante 8 meses para determinar si los adolescentes recibían la primera, segunda o tercera dosis de la vacuna anti-hepatitis B. Resultados. En total, 32% de los ...