The recently released US Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination designed to achieve disease elimination goals for 2021–20251 promotes screening to identify and treatment for the more than 3 million Americans with hepatitis B or C. Chronic hepatitis B and C together comprise a significant proportion of all hepatitis diagnoses in the United States given the current estimates of nearly 900,000 infected with chronic hepatitis B and 2.4 million infected with chronic hepatitis C, with new hepatitis C infections related to the opioid epidemic on the rise. Guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated in 2020 now recommends a universal 1-time hepatitis C virus (HCV) test for all adults as well as testing during each pregnancy.2

Background: Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B can be prevented with vaccination and screening. Foreign-born women living in the United States may have lower vaccination coverage and greater lifetime exposure to hepatitis B virus than US-born women. Objective: To determine if self-reported hepatitis B vaccination and screening differ between US-born and foreign-born women of reproductive age and examine predictors. Methods: National Health Interview Survey data from 2013-2015 were pooled to estimate prevalence of lifetime history of hepatitis B vaccination and screening self-reported by women aged 18-44 years who were born in the United States or elsewhere (foreign-born). Significance of world region of birth, birth cohort, and immigration-related characteristics were considered. Results: Among women of reproductive age (n= 24,216), reported hepatitis B vaccination was 33% lower for foreign-born (27.3%) than US-born (40.9%) women (t-test P < .05). Vaccination coverage was low for women who were born in Mexico and other parts of Central America, including the Caribbean islands (18.4%), South America (25.3%), and the Indian subcontinent (31.7%). Factors associated with vaccination in both groups included education, income, and health insurance coverage. Screening was reported by 28.5% of foreign-born vs. 31.9% of US-born women (t-test P < .05). The lowest reported screening prevalence occurred among foreign-born Hispanic or Latina Mexican (21.0%) and Puerto Rican (21.9%) women. Factors associated with screening prevalence among foreign-born women included English fluency, recent US residency, and citizenship. Conclusions: Foreign-born women of reproductive age had lower hepatitis B vaccination and screening coverage compared to US-born women of reproductive age.