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Master of Public Health

Disparities in Awareness of Hepatitis C Virus among U.S. Adults: an analysis of the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey

AUTHORS

Islam JY , Spees L , Camacho-Rivera M , Vidot DC , Yarosh R , Wheldon CW , . Sexually transmitted diseases. 2021 5 20; ().

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The USPSTF updated hepatitis-C virus (HCV) screening 2020 guidelines to target adults aged 18-79 years; a major shift from the prior focus on high-risk populations (“Baby-boomers” aged ≥55 years as of 2019). To inform efforts to maximize HCV screening coverage, our objective was to identify demographic groups reporting a lack of HCV awareness, particularly by race/ethnicity and age, and sources of health information.

METHODS: We used nationally-representative data of adults (≥18 years) included in the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 5438). Awareness of HCV was defined using the following question: “Have you ever heard of the Hepatitis C virus (also known as Hep C or HCV)?” We estimated frequencies by demographic groups and computed risk differences (RD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare lack of HCV awareness by age (<55 and ≥ 55 years) and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS: Overall, 17% of adults never heard of HCV. Younger adults <55 years(21%) were more likely to have never heard of HCV compared to older adults ≥55 years(12%, χ2-p < 0.001). This observation was consistent across most demographic characteristics including, racial/ethnic categories, and residing in the Southern US. Over one-third of adults with low English fluency had a lack of HCV awareness in both age groups (χ2-p = 0.537). NH-Asian (RD:25%, 95%CI:6.9-43.3) and Hispanic (RD:10%, 95%CI:0.01-19.6) adults <55 years were significantly more likely to have never heard of HCV compared to their NH-White counterparts after adjustment for sex, educational level, household income, English fluency, and having a regular provider. Adults <55 years with a lack of HCV awareness commonly obtained their health information from the internet across most sociodemographic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic and NH-Asian young adults should be targeted for public health messaging regarding HCV screening, potentially through social media campaigns.

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