Health Education Research Advance Access originally published online on August 31, 2006
Health Education Research 2006 21(5):654-661; doi:10.1093/her/cyl047
Risk perceptions and behavioral intentions for Hepatitis B: how do young adults fare?
1 School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
2 Immunization Branch, California Department of Health Services, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
3 School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
*Correspondence to: R. M. Gonzales. E-mail: rachelmg{at}ucla.edu
Young adults are at risk for Hepatitis B infection. Little is known about their attitudes and beliefs concerning Hepatitis B, which are determinants of getting immunized. This investigation examined risk perceptions and behavioral intentions concerning Hepatitis B among a convenience sample of 1070 young adults, 18–24 years old who participated in a Hepatitis B campaign that aired a prevention-based advertisement in movies. The campaign did not produce any significant effects. Therefore, analyses presented in this paper explored whether risk perceptions and intentions vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Most young adults do not perceive themselves to be at risk for Hepatitis B, but perceive other people to be at risk. Gender and ethnic differences in behavioral intentions to seek out Hepatitis B information were also observed. This study offers insight about important factors to consider when designing Hepatitis B prevention interventions for young adults and suggests that increasing health-promotion efforts for this group, while accounting for differences in age, culture and gender, are warranted.