Clustering of chronic hepatitis B screening intentions in social networks of Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Early detection, identification, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B through screening is vital for those at increased risk, e.g. born in hepatitis B endemic countries. In the Netherlands, Moroccan immigrants show low participation rates in health-related screening programmes. Since social networks influence health behaviour, we investigated whether similar screening intentions for chronic hepatitis B cluster within social networks of Moroccan immigrants. Methods We used respondent-driven sampling (RDS) where each participant (“recruiter”) was asked to complete a questionn... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Nora Hamdiui
Vincent Buskens
Jim E. van Steenbergen
Mirjam E. E. Kretzschmar
Luis E. C. Rocha
Anna E. Thorson
Aura Timen
Albert Wong
Maria van den Muijsenbergh
Mart L. Stein
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
Reihe/Periodikum: BMC Public Health, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2020)
Verlag/Hrsg.: BMC
Schlagwörter: Social networks / Hepatitis B / Screening / Intention / Moroccan immigrants / Netherlands / Public aspects of medicine / RA1-1270
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28758127
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8438-x

Abstract Background Early detection, identification, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B through screening is vital for those at increased risk, e.g. born in hepatitis B endemic countries. In the Netherlands, Moroccan immigrants show low participation rates in health-related screening programmes. Since social networks influence health behaviour, we investigated whether similar screening intentions for chronic hepatitis B cluster within social networks of Moroccan immigrants. Methods We used respondent-driven sampling (RDS) where each participant (“recruiter”) was asked to complete a questionnaire and to recruit three Moroccans (“recruitees”) from their social network. Logistic regression analyses were used to analyse whether the recruiters’ intention to request a screening test was similar to the intention of their recruitees. Results We sampled 354 recruiter-recruitee pairs: for 154 pairs both participants had a positive screening intention, for 68 pairs both had a negative screening intention, and the remaining 132 pairs had a discordant intention to request a screening test. A tie between a recruiter and recruitee was associated with having the same screening intention, after correction for sociodemographic variables (OR 1.70 [1.15–2.51]). Conclusions The findings of our pilot study show clustering of screening intention among individuals in the same network. This provides opportunities for social network interventions to encourage participation in hepatitis B screening initiatives.