P-1846. Education and Point-of-Care Testing to Improve Hepatitis A Vaccination Rates Among Future Food-Related Workers

TL;DR

This study shows that combining education and point-of-care testing can help identify and vaccinate college students at risk for hepatitis A, especially future food-related workers.

Contribution

The study introduces a combined approach of education and point-of-care testing to improve hepatitis A vaccination rates among susceptible young adults.

Findings

The HAV IgG seropositivity rate among participants was 27.2%.

Vaccination completion was predicted by vaccination intent and improved understanding after education.

75.6% of vaccination-eligible individuals completed the HAV vaccination.

Abstract

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection remains a public health concern in South Korea, with periodic outbreaks mainly affecting young adults. However, adults in their 20s to 40s continue to demonstrate low anti-HAV seropositivity rates, with only 19.5% in their 20s and 32.4% in their 30s (Lee et al., 2021). Strategies to identify susceptible adults and enhance vaccination uptake are needed.Flowchart of participant enrollment, testing, and vaccination process.Flow diagram of participant inclusion, antibody testing, and vaccination completion. Panel A shows the testing and educational flow for all enrolled students. Panel B describes the vaccination process among those with negative anti-HAV IgG, including exclusion of those previously vaccinated and completion rates for two-dose HAV vaccination.

Flowchart of participant enrollment, testing, and vaccination process.

Flow diagram of participant inclusion, antibody testing, and vaccination completion. Panel A shows the testing and educational flow for all enrolled students. Panel B describes the vaccination process among those with negative anti-HAV IgG, including exclusion of those previously vaccinated and completion rates for two-dose HAV vaccination.

We conducted a prospective observational study involving 692 college students from food-related departments in Gwangju, South Korea, between 2023 and 2024. Participants completed pre- and post-education surveys assessing hepatitis A awareness, knowledge, and preventive behaviors. Point-of-care HAV IgG antibody testing (POCT) was performed using the BIOCREDIT HAV IgG Antibody Diagnostic Kit (Rapigen Inc., Suwon, South Korea). Factors associated with HAV antibody positivity and vaccination completion were analyzed.

The HAV IgG seropositivity rate was 27.2%. In multivariate analysis, participants who had completed military service as cooks were significantly more likely to be seropositive compared to those without military service (adjusted OR (aOR) 27.1, 95% CI: 2.94 - 250.02, p=0.004). Among 468 vaccination-eligible individuals identified by POCT and vaccination history, 354 (75.6%) completed HAV vaccination. In this group, those who expressed vaccination intent (aOR 3.5, 95% CI: 2.15 - 5.73, p< 0.001) and showed improvement in vaccine understanding post-education (aOR 1.1, 95% CI: 1.01 - 1.26, p=0.032) were significant predictors of vaccination uptake.

Although previous studies have reported that education can improve vaccination uptake, its impact has often been limited. This study suggests that combining point-of-care antibody testing with education not only facilitates the identification of vaccination-eligible individuals but also may contribute to a higher vaccination completion rate.

All Authors: No reported disclosures

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