A Model for Interprofessional Health Disparities Education: Student-Led Curriculum on Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

BACKGROUND: Although health disparities are commonly addressed in preclinical didactic curricula, direct patient care activities with affected communities are more limited. PURPOSE: To address this problem, health professional students designed a preclinical service-learning curriculum on hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection, a major health disparity affecting the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) population, integrating lectures, skills training, and direct patient care at student-run clinics. SETTING: An urban health professions campus. METHODS: Medical and other health professional students at University of California, San Francisco, organized a preclinical didactic and experiential elective, and established two monthly clinics offering HBV screening, vaccination, and education to the community. RESULTS: Between 2004 and 2009, 477 students enrolled in the student-led HBV curriculum. Since the clinics’ inception in 2007, 804 patients have been screened for chronic HBV; 87% were API immigrants, 63% had limited English proficiency, and 46% were uninsured. Serologically, 10% were found to be chronic HBV carriers, 44% were susceptible to HBV, and 46% were immune. DISCUSSION: Our student-led didactic and experiential elective can serve as an interprofessional curricular model for learning about specific health disparities while providing important services to the local community.