Premium
A Successful Approach to Immunizing Men Who Have Sex with Men Against Hepatitis B
Author(s) -
Savage Robert B,
Hussey Mary Jo,
Hurie Marjorie B
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1446.2000.00202.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatitis b , hepatitis b virus , men who have sex with men , outreach , hepatitis b vaccine , odds ratio , public health , vaccination , family medicine , confidence interval , hepatitis a vaccine , virology , immunization , hepatitis , hepatitis a , immunology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , hbsag , virus , syphilis , antibody , nursing , political science , law
This paper reports the success of outreach efforts to immunize adults at high risk of acquiring hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Local health department testers recruited clients when they sought anonymous HIV testing. Interested clients were serologically tested for HBV infection. Susceptibles were offered a free hepatitis B vaccine. Of 189 clients who were tested, 161 (86%) were susceptible to HBV infection and 140 (74%) were men who have sex with men (MSM). Of the susceptibles, 82 (51%) started the hepatitis B vaccine series. Sixty‐five (80%) received three doses of hepatitis B vaccine and an additional 10 (12%) received two doses. Completing the hepatitis B vaccine series was associated with being a MSM (odds ratio [OR] 8.8, confidence interval [CI] 1.5–56.0) and with not being an injection drug user (IDU) (OR 0.2, CI 0.02–1.0). One way to provide hepatitis B vaccine to MSM is to attach an immunization program to a successful anonymous HIV testing program. The feasibility of implementing such programs would increase if public vaccine policymakers made more federally purchased hepatitis B vaccine available for adults.