HIV/AIDS knowledge and high risk sexual practices among southern California Vietnamese

Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates among Vietnamese, Asian, and non-Hispanic white Americans

BACKGROUND

Vaccination data for Asian Americans are comparable to those for whites, possibly because they are reported in aggregate rather than for subgroups. We compared influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates among eligible Asian Americans and white Americans, and for Vietnamese Americans as a subgroup, and assessed factors associated with these vaccinations.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study of data collected from three ethnic groups over 4 years by telephone survey. Data were weighted for selection probability and population estimates and analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Vietnamese Americans had a higher rate of influenza vaccination (61%) than Asian Americans (45%) and white Americans (52%), and lower rate of pneumococcal vaccination (41%) than Asian Americans (56%), both lower than white Americans (67%).

CONCLUSION

When analyzed as a subgroup, Vietnamese Americans had a higher influenza vaccination rate, but a lower pneumococcal vaccination rate, compared to Asian Americans and white Americans, which may indicate that health behaviors and outcomes can differ widely among Asian subgroups. Analyses of preventive care measures in Asian Americans should focus on subgroups to ensure accuracy and quality of assessments.

Test-retest reliability for self-reports of sexual behavior among Thai and Korean respondents

The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability for reports of sexual behavior from the National Institutes of Mental Health Multisite HIV Prevention Trial survey for two Asian samples. Thai (N = 37) and Korean (N = 46) respondents aged 19-37 years (M = 29, SD = 4.61) completed face-to-face interviews to assess their sexual risk in their ethnic language 3-7 days apart. Test-retest coefficients ranged from .65 to 1.00 demonstrating acceptable reliability of the survey among Thai and Korean adults. The discussion focuses on the development of HIV risk assessments that take into consideration ethnic diversity found within the Asian and Pacific Islander community.