Knowledge, attitudes and medical practice regarding hepatitis B prevention and management among healthcare workers in Northern Vietnam

Abstract

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.

Capacity building of healthcare workers: Key step towards elimination of viral hepatitis in developing countries

“…The current study suggested that HCWs had a mean knowledge score of 19.23±4.53 with 77.2% of the participants falling in poor-to-moderate category with respect to knowledge related to viral hepatitis. The knowledge score of the present study were in line with previous studies from developing countries [29,30], this is mainly attributable to the ignorance and less importance given to viral hepatitis among physicians especially in developing countries [31,32]. Further, younger participants (19.80±4.44) were found to be more aware about viral hepatitis as compared to their older counterparts (18.92±4.55, p<0.001) as observed in several other studies assessing the knowledge [33].…”

Hepatitis B Birth Dose among Children in District 2 Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Prevalence and Associated Factors

“…Barriers for timely hepatitis B birth dose in our study showed that the participants had concerns relating to the side effects after vaccination, and the specific concerns about children who were premature or having a low birth weight. This finding was also reported in previous studies in Vietnam [ 12 , 26 ]. Also, the new regulation, Circular 12 of Vietnam Ministry of Health, has been issued, which helps healthcare workers delivering immunization and has contributed to placing special attention on the safety of HBV injections and AEFI.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices toward Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Students of Medicine in Vietnam

“…With HBV infection remaining a major public health problem in Vietnam, capacity building of health care workers is one of the main strategies in the national action plan for hepatitis control [ 10 ]. Medical students are part of healthcare workers system.…”