Hepatitis B Knowledge, Testing, and Vaccination History among Undergraduate Public Health Students in Ghana

Abstract

Background. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health problem in many parts of the world. The risk of acquiring the infection through exposure to blood, semen, and other bodily fluids is highest among health care workers (HCW) including trainees. Ghana is considered a high risk country for HBV; however little is known about the knowledge and prevention practices of the infection in the country. This study assessed the knowledge, testing, and vaccination history of HBV and their related factors among undergraduate public health students of University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 226 students using a pretested questionnaire to assess Hepatitis B knowledge, testing, and vaccination history of the students. We performed logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between Hepatitis B testing and vaccination history and participants’ characteristics. Data was analysed using Stata Version 12. Results. Majority 169 (73.9%) of the 226 participants studied had moderate knowledge regarding HBV infection. About half 114 (50.4%) of them had never been tested for HBV infection, and 100 (44.2%) had received at least a single dose of Hepatitis B vaccine. The completed vaccination rate among the students was 30.5%. Students in their 2nd year (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 3.13; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.13, 7.52; p<0.011) and those with moderate (AOR: 4.76; 95% CI; 1.35, 16.82; P=0.015) and good (AOR: 5.40; 95% CI: 1.31, 22.36; P=0.020) level of knowledge were more likely to be tested for HBV. With regard to vaccination, females (AOR: 1.85; 95%CI: 1.04-3.29; P=0.037) and regular students (AOR: 0.37; 95%CI: 0.19, 0.70; p=0.002) were associated with receiving the full dose of Hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusion. This study highlights the urgent need for continued health education on HBV infection and strategies that ensure that health trainees are screened and fully vaccinated against the infection to prevent potential future exposure to the virus. The students’ representative council can organize free HBV testing and vaccination for all fresh students.

Factors associated with Hepatitis B screening and completion of vaccination schedule among young psychoactive substance users in Kampala's informal settlements, Uganda

“…This could have impacted on their hepatitis B screening rates. These ndings are in agreement with those of Osei, Niyilapah (40) which indicated that females were more likely to screen for hepatitis B compared to males. In addition, males often show a reluctancy in receiving health care services which could explain their low screening rates for hepatitis B (41,42).…”

“…Consequently, these may have been motivated to take all the vaccine doses. A number of studies have concluded that an adequate level of knowledge on disease conditions increases the uptake of prevention services such as hepatitis B vaccination (40).…”

A survey on medical, dental, and pharmacy students' knowledge, attitude, and practice about hepatitis B infection in a private medical University of Malaysia

“…However, studies from Ghana and India described moderate and fair knowledge about HBV infection among medical and pharmacy students, respectively. [ 22 23 ] A low level of knowledge and awareness among medical, dental, and pharmacy students might be due to their unstructured curriculum design and less exposure to tutorials and assignments related to infectious diseases on a regular basis. The overall mean knowledge scores of the students were found as good as previous studies[ 16 22 23 24 ] but higher than one Indian study[ 4 ] with a significant ( P < 0.001) difference in the knowledge mean scores between medical and pharmacy students in the present study.…”

“…[ 22 23 ] A low level of knowledge and awareness among medical, dental, and pharmacy students might be due to their unstructured curriculum design and less exposure to tutorials and assignments related to infectious diseases on a regular basis. The overall mean knowledge scores of the students were found as good as previous studies[ 16 22 23 24 ] but higher than one Indian study[ 4 ] with a significant ( P < 0.001) difference in the knowledge mean scores between medical and pharmacy students in the present study. [ 8 ] The difference in mean knowledge scores between medical and pharmacy students might be due to more in-depth discussion on infectious diseases with medical students during their lectures, tutorials, and clinical exposures compared to pharmacy students.…”

Vaccination Status, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Toward Hepatitis B Infection Among Students of Medical Laboratory Sciences at Sudan International University

“…Good knowledge was de ned by answering ≥ 70% of the knowledge questions correctly, whereas poor knowledge was de ned as < 70% of correct answers. The attitude score was calculated by summing the marks of questions (20)(21)(22). Positive attitude was de ned by answering ≥ 70% of the attitude items correctly, whereas negative attitude was indicated by < 70% of correct answers.…”