TY - JOUR
T1 - Knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practice of health-care professionals toward hepatitis B disease and vaccination in Saudi Arabia
AU - Alshammari, Thamir M.
AU - Aljofan, Mohamad
AU - Subaie, Gehad
AU - Hussain, Talib
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was not funded by any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors would like to thank all of the HCPs for their active participation and cooperation in this study.
PY - 2019/12/2
Y1 - 2019/12/2
N2 - Objectives: Health-care professionals (HCPs) are at very high risk for accidental exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) from infected patients; as such, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practice of HCPs toward hepatitis B vaccination. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a pre-tested, validated questionnaire in seven major cities in Saudi Arabia from January to April 2015. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographics, knowledge, awareness of hepatitis B infection, and attitude of HCPs toward HBV. We analyzed the data collected from study participants using SAS® V9.2. Results: Approximately 16.5% of participants reported that they had not received the hepatitis B vaccine; however, the majority of participants believed that hepatitis B is common (73.2%) and that vaccination is an effective strategy to reduce disease incidence (75%). Availability of the vaccine was a major barrier to vaccination (48.7%), together with safety concerns surrounding the vaccine (37%). Approximately 31.2% of non-vaccinated participants believed the hepatitis B vaccine is not safe, while only 8% possessed this belief in the vaccinated group. Additionally, 36.4% of non-vaccinated participants were unsure of the effectiveness of the vaccine, compared to 24.3% in the vaccinated group. Inability to afford the vaccine was reported by 18.2% of the non-vaccinated group compared to only 4% of vaccinated participants. Conclusion: There is notable hepatitis B vaccination coverage among HCPs, but observed levels are below global standards. We believe the hurdles preventing non-vaccinated HCPs from being immunized must be addressed.
AB - Objectives: Health-care professionals (HCPs) are at very high risk for accidental exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) from infected patients; as such, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practice of HCPs toward hepatitis B vaccination. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a pre-tested, validated questionnaire in seven major cities in Saudi Arabia from January to April 2015. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographics, knowledge, awareness of hepatitis B infection, and attitude of HCPs toward HBV. We analyzed the data collected from study participants using SAS® V9.2. Results: Approximately 16.5% of participants reported that they had not received the hepatitis B vaccine; however, the majority of participants believed that hepatitis B is common (73.2%) and that vaccination is an effective strategy to reduce disease incidence (75%). Availability of the vaccine was a major barrier to vaccination (48.7%), together with safety concerns surrounding the vaccine (37%). Approximately 31.2% of non-vaccinated participants believed the hepatitis B vaccine is not safe, while only 8% possessed this belief in the vaccinated group. Additionally, 36.4% of non-vaccinated participants were unsure of the effectiveness of the vaccine, compared to 24.3% in the vaccinated group. Inability to afford the vaccine was reported by 18.2% of the non-vaccinated group compared to only 4% of vaccinated participants. Conclusion: There is notable hepatitis B vaccination coverage among HCPs, but observed levels are below global standards. We believe the hurdles preventing non-vaccinated HCPs from being immunized must be addressed.
KW - Attitude and knowledge
KW - healthcare professionals
KW - Hepatitis B vaccine
KW - Saudi Arabia
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U2 - 10.1080/21645515.2019.1629255
DO - 10.1080/21645515.2019.1629255
M3 - Article
C2 - 31226008
AN - SCOPUS:85071871086
VL - 15
SP - 2816
EP - 2823
JO - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
JF - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
SN - 2164-5515
IS - 12
ER -