Honors Theses

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Wayne Gray

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be prevented and controlled through vaccination. However, vaccination among high-risks adults in the U.S. is still low (50%). This poses serious threats for HBV transmission between infected individuals and high-risk individuals. Objective: The specific aims of this research were to (a) explore the prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination uptake from 2011-2014 (b) to examine intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational level factors associated with receiving hepatitis B vaccination among high-risk adults. Methods: Data were analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011-2014 to (1) assess the prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination and (2) examine the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and organizational level factors associated with receiving the hepatitis B vaccination among U.S. adults. Results: Of the 5,379 participants, 464 (weighted 8.6%) were considered high-risk adults and 4,915 (weighted 91.4%) were considered non-high-risk adults. Overall, vaccination uptake for high-risk adults was (50.5%) and (53.7%) for non-high-risk adults. There were statistically significant differences between high-risk and non-high-risk based on race, education, and previous reception of Hep A vaccination. Discussion: This study illustrated that: (a) hepatitis B vaccination uptake among high-risk adults is improving but is still less than optimal (b) individual, social, and environmental factors play a role in receipt of vaccination among high-risk adults. As a result, these individual, social, and environmental factors could serve as a driving force to improve vaccination among high-risk adults. Conclusion: Efforts to increase access and use of educational programs may significantly combat certain social and environmental factors that have been linked to low vaccination rates among high-risk populations. Additionally, the implementation of stricter ACIP vaccination recommendations should be considered by Federal associations as a means of increasing vaccination among the general population.

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