Knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses and doctors about the vertical transmission of hepatitis B

Abstract

Objective: to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices of physicians and nurses of the Family Health Strategy and a maternity hospital unit about vertical transmission of hepatitis B. Method: a cross-sectional study with a self-administered questionnaire applied to professionals. The data were analyzed according to professional category and site of action, whose differences were tested by χ 2 and significance <5%. Results: professionals recognize viral hepatitis as a disease of compulsory notification; however, not everyone knows its mechanisms of transmission. A large portion of professionals requested serological tests, specifying the marker, especially physicians.The majority of family health nurses did not indicate hepatitis B vaccine for pregnant women, although they knew the immunization schedule. The majority of physicians on the maternity unit had proper knowledge about prevention of vertical transmission. Conclusion: the differences in the knowledge, attitudes and practices about vertical transmission of hepatitis B revealed that the population is at risk, since not all the professionals involved know or properly perform control strategies for vertical transmission of hepatitis B. Nurses dominated vaccination aspects and physicians dominated aspects related to the management of cases with positive serology.

Adequate Knowledge and Low Vaccination Rates of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Students, Medical, and Paramedical Persons in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

“…Most study participants believed that HBV is sexually transmitted (66%), with transmission from the mother to the child through the transplacental barrier (56%) being the second most chosen mode of transmission followed by the sharing of razors and transmission by household contact (12.5%). These results were similar to a previous study, which noted that 50% of HBV transmission was through the transplacental barrier [12].…”

Knowledge, attitude, and practice study on hepatitis B among medical and nursing undergraduate students of an apex healthcare institute at Uttarakhand foothills: A descriptive analysis

“…In another cross-sectional study carried out by Gonçalves and Gonçalves, more than 90% of nurses and physicians of a maternity hospital and family health teams in Manaus (Brazil) were aware that Hep B is a disease of compulsory notification. [15]…”

Assessment of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Knowledge and Attitudes in a Sample of Health Care Workers from Southeast Brazil

“…More than 55% of physicians from Manaus City (North Brazil) also recognized the mechanisms of HBV transmission while only 2.1% (7/337) of professionals of rescue and emergency care of road traffic crash victims from Nigeria correctly identified contact with infected blood and blood contaminated body fluid as routes of transmission of HBV (Gonçalves et al, 2013;Ochu et al, 2017). These differences could be attribute to health education campaigns developed to these professionals according geographical regions.…”