HBV Chatbot
Written by: By Jake Tran, Phillip Nguyen, and Willis Tang
https://hepbchatbot.netlify.app/
Phillip: Growing up, I recall accompanying my father to his annual ultrasound liver screenings. At the time, I thought these screenings were simply routine health check-ups. It was not until my grandfather passed from hepatocellular carcinoma did I learn of my family’s enduring struggles with hepatitis B. With my family navigating the challenges of immigrating to America, healthcare was the last thing on their mind. Limited access to proper care and patient health education during the Vietnam War did not help their case either. Upon arriving and living in California, my family became aware of their hidden battle with hepatitis B. Through my family’s stories, I learned of Asian communities' susceptibility to hepatitis B, fueling my desire to pursue this HBV project.
Jake: During my time in college, I first learned about the Hepatitis B Virus in a course where we discussed diseases which disproportionately impact the AAPI community. Now that I work at a Liver Clinic for a Federally Qualified Health Center in San Diego I am able to see firsthand the importance of addressing HBV and liver health which led to my passion to pursue this project.
Willis: During my early childhood, I witnessed many of my close family members suffer from liver-related complications, including viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which motivated me to learn more about liver disease and pursue research and clinical projects geared towards improving education, early detection, and treatment. After working closely with patients within the community, I began to recognize the importance of accessible, easily understandable health information in improving long-term health outcomes. This motivated me to spearhead the creation of the HBV awareness and advocacy passion project, which we are now expanding to cover broader liver-cancer-related topics, and adopt mentorship roles to guide other passionate SEL volunteers through impactful community-focused work.
What is Hepatitis B (Taken from our Hepatitis B article written in 2024):
For those who are unaware of what Hepatitis B is, it is a liver infection that is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). There are generally 2 forms of Hepatitis B, acute and chronic hepatitis B. For those with acute hepatitis B, the virus will go away naturally within 6 months however for those with chronic hep B, the virus does not. Generally, the risk of developing chronic hep B is related to the age with the younger an individual is exposed to HBV, the greater the risk they have of developing chronic hep B.[1] This is not to say that older individuals will not get infected with chronic hep B but it is to say that the risk for chronic hep B is reduced for those who are older.
According to the Hep B foundation, around 2 billion people in the world have been infected with HBV and roughly 1.5 million new people become infected each year. In the United States specifically, 2.4 million people are chronically affected with Hepatitis B.[1]
Hepatitis B is spread when bodily fluids(i.e. blood or semen but not spit) from someone who is infected enters the body of someone who is not infected. Examples of this virus spreading are through actions such as sharing needles or sexual contact.[2] This virus also spreads from a mother to a baby. The virus is not spread through kissing or sharing utensils. The virus is also extremely resilient outside of the body, being able to live on surfaces for up to 7 days. [3]
Currently there is no cure for hepatitis B infection but there is a very effective way to prevent an HBV infection which is via the Hepatitis B vaccine series. For some individuals in the United States, this vaccine is given at infancy, however for some, they have not received this vaccine.
Importance of Health Literacy:
Personal Health Literacy plays a role in the overall health of many of those around us. It is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” (4) It is how we understand the health conditions that play a significant role within both our communities and the communities around us.
Although health literacy is tremendously important, it was found that nearly nine out of 10 adults struggle to understand and use personal and public health information when it's filled with unfamiliar or complex terms (5). This limited health literacy costs the healthcare system money and results in higher than necessary morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that improving health literacy has the ability to prevent nearly 1 million hospital visits and save over $25 billion a year. It is imperative that we, our friends, and our family are educated about our health.
Lack of knowledge about Hepatitis B:
For many individuals, health literacy related to Hepatitis B remains limited and can be further improved. In a 296-person study in Korea, it was found that general awareness of Hepatitis B as a liver disease was high; 276 respondents (93.2%) correctly identified it as such. However, the understanding of screening practices and the long-term outcomes of HBV infection was limited. Only 38.9% correctly recognized that vaccination does not replace screening and that screening remains necessary, while 61.1% either misunderstood this concept or did not respond. Similarly, only 28.3% were aware that Hepatitis B infection does not always result in lifelong infection, indicating significant gaps in Hepatitis B health literacy within this population (6)
This lack of Hepatitis B knowledge can also be seen in medical students. In a study involving 132 medical students, they found that although most students (84.8%) were aware of the Hepatitis B virus infection and recognized major transmission routes such as blood transfusion (81.1%) and the use of contaminated needles or syringes (74.2%), fewer than 30% demonstrated knowledge of other modes of transmission. More than half of the students lacked understanding of the clinical features and complications of Hepatitis B, and although 72.7% were aware of the availability of HBV vaccination, many were unsure of their own vaccination status (7).
These two studies highlighted the lack of Hepatitis B Health Literacy and played a role in our motivation to run this project.
Our Solution
To help solve these issues of limited health literacy, Phillip, Willis and I worked together to create a Hepatitis B chatbot! The Hepatitis B Chatbot is designed to educate the general public about Hepatitis B through an interactive, question-and-answer format.
The link is attached both here and on the SEL website for anyone to click on!
https://hepbchatbot.netlify.app/
If you have any questions, please email us at hepbchatbot@gmail.com!
Works Cited
“Hepatitis B Facts and Figures.” Hepatitis B Foundation | Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, www.hepb.org/what-is-hepatitis-b/what-is-hepb/facts-and-figures/.
“Viral Hepatitis.” Viral Hepatitis | HHS.Gov, www.hhs.gov/hepatitis.
BOND, W. “Survival of hepatitis B virus after drying and storage for one week.” The Lancet, vol. 317, no. 8219, 7 Mar. 1981, pp. 550–551, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(81)92877-4.
Santana, Stephanie, et al. “Updating health literacy for healthy people 2030: Defining its importance for a new decade in Public Health.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, vol. 27, no. Supplement 6, 12 Mar. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001324.
“Talking Points about Health Literacy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/health-literacy/php/about/tell-others.html.
Sannathimmappa, Mohan B, et al. “Hepatitis B: Knowledge and awareness among preclinical year medical students.” Avicenna Journal of Medicine, vol. 9, no. 02, Apr. 2019, pp. 43–47, https://doi.org/10.4103/ajm.ajm_164_18.
Hyun, Sarah, et al. “Knowledge, awareness, and prevention of hepatitis B virus infection among Korean American parents.” Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, vol. 20, no. 4, 21 June 2017, pp. 943–950, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0609-1.
