Opinions from ESL instructors and students about curricula on hepatitis B for use in immigrant communities

Background. Chinese immigrants in Canada have a disproportionately high risk for hepatitis B compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Hepatitis B is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma among Asian immigrants to North America. English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes are an effective way of reaching newly immigrated individuals and are a potential channel for delivering health messages. Methods. Using data from 6 focus groups among ESL instructors and students, we characterized perceptions about activities that are successfully used in ESL classrooms and strategies for delivering hepatitis B information. Results. Instructors and students generally reported that activities that focused on speaking and listening skills and that addressed content relevant to students’ daily lives were successful in the classroom. Instructors generally avoided material that was irrelevant or too difficult to understand. Focus group participants offered strategies for delivering hepatitis B information in ESL classrooms; these strategies included addressing symptoms and prevention and not singling out a specific population subgroup to avoid stigmatization. Conclusions. These findings might assist efforts to develop ESL curricula that target immigrant populations.