Background: Building capacity in hepatitis B virus prevention and management for medical students and health professionals is one of the pillars of the national viral hepatitis control strategy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at eight medical universities from the northern, central and southern regions of the country between May and November 2020 using a systematic random sampling technique. Results: Among 2000 participants, 84.2% reported they had been tested for hepatitis B and 83.9% had received the hepatitis B vaccine. The mean knowledge, attitude, practice score was 40.2 out of 54 (74.4%) with only 19.9% of the study participants obtaining a good score. In multivariate analysis, fifth year students, students from central universities, students who had tested positive for hepatitis B and students who had received hepatitis B vaccine or had encountered patients with chronic hepatitis B had significantly higher knowledge score (p < 0.05). The study showed lack of trust in the hepatitis B vaccine safety and lack of confidence in providing counselling, testing and management of patients with chronic hepatitis B. Conclusion: Findings from our research emphasized an immediate need to improve the medical schools’ training curriculum in Vietnam to enable students’ readiness in hepatitis B prevention and management.

Background and aimVietnam’s burden of liver cancer is largely due to its high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aimed to examine healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HBV prevention and management.MethodsA cross-sectional survey among health care workers working at primary and tertiary facilities in two Northern provinces in Vietnam in 2017. A standardized questionnaire was administered to randomly selected HCWs. Multivariate regression was used to identify predictors of the HBV knowledge score.ResultsAmong the 314 participants, 75.5% did not know HBV infection at birth carries the highest risk of developing chronic infection. The median knowledge score was 25 out of 42 (59.5%). About one third (30.2%) wrongly believed that HBV can be transmitted through eating or sharing food with chronic hepatitis B patients. About 38.8% did not feel confident that the hepatitis B vaccine is safe. Only 30.1% provided correct answers to all the questions on injection safety. Up to 48.2% reported they consistently recap needles with two hands after injection, a practice that would put them at greater risk of needle stick injury. About 24.2% reported having been pricked by a needle at work within the past 12 months. More than 40% were concerned about having casual contact or sharing food with a person with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB). In multivariate analysis, physicians scored significantly higher compared to other healthcare professionals. Having received training regarding hepatitis B within the last two years was also significantly associated with a better HBV knowledge score.ConclusionsFindings from the survey indicated an immediate need to implement an effective hepatitis B education and training program to build capacity among Vietnam’s healthcare workers in hepatitis B prevention and control and to dispel hepatitis B stigma.

Background and aims The national Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) reported the major indication for liver transplants in 2018 was for other/unknown causes. This study was undertaken to examine all causes and trends in liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among adults who received liver transplants in the past 10 years.