Journal of Community Health
Volume 40, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 175-184

Adapting the Andersen Model to a Francophone West African Immigrant Population: Hepatitis B Screening and Linkage to Care in New York City (Article)

Blanas D.A.* , Nichols K. , Bekele M. , Shankar H. , Bekele S. , Jandorf L. , Izzeldin S. , Ndiaye D. , Traore A. , Bassam M. , Perumalswami P.V.
  • a Institute for Family Health, Harlem Residency in Family Medicine, 1824 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10035, United States
  • b African Services Committee, New York, NY, United States
  • c African Services Committee, New York, NY, United States
  • d Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
  • e Saint Barnabas Hospital, New York, NY, United States
  • f Department of Oncologic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
  • g University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States
  • h African Services Committee, New York, NY, United States
  • i African Services Committee, New York, NY, United States
  • j Howard University, Washington, DC, United States
  • k Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is highly endemic in West Africa and immigration from this region to the United States has greatly increased over the past quarter century. Using the Andersen Model as a conceptual framework, this study qualitatively examines francophone West African immigrants’ perceptions of factors affecting access to HBV screening and linkage-to-care in New York City. Four focus groups were conducted with 39 purposefully selected participants. The focus groups were conducted in French, audio-recorded, translated into English, transcribed, analyzed, and coded for major themes. Participants identified increasing knowledge of HBV and opportunities to access care in a culturally-sensitive manner that decreases fatalism and avoids generating stigma as priorities. They also emphasized the importance of engaging religious establishments and social networks and employing the Internet to disseminate HBV-relevant information. Cost and health insurance are identified as future challenges that will need to be addressed in a health care environment in which undocumented immigrants are ineligible for health insurance. The qualitative analysis in this study highlights the recursive and interdependent nature of the Andersen Model, and a modification of the model is proposed that is intended to inform examinations of other minority communities’ access to health care. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

West Africa qualitative research Immigration Hepatitis B

Index Keywords

information processing perception mass screening human epidemiology Africa, Western middle aged health service social support Internet language ethnology Health Services Needs and Demand United States Humans migrant Black person African Continental Ancestry Group male Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors Africa socioeconomics organization and management translating (language) Translating adult New York City Health Services Accessibility hepatitis B Focus Groups health care delivery
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84939890259&doi=10.1007%2fs10900-014-9916-9&partnerID=40&md5=640995edb2138a95748672f36427963a
DOI: 10.1007/s10900-014-9916-9
ISSN: 00945145
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English