Awareness and acceptance of the hepatitis B vaccine by dental practitioners in Malaysia

Knowledge of hepatitis B among healthy population in community

Hepatitis B is the world’s most common blood‑borne viral infection, accounting for 2 billion infections, 350 million carriers, and 6 lakh deaths annually. Aim of the paper is to determine the level of knowledge among healthy population in North Macedonia regarding Hepatitis B virus infection. Material and methods: A community‑based cross‑sectional study was undertaken. Questionnaire was administered to 600 healthy individuals, who heard about hepatitis B. Data handled and analyzed by using statistical package SPSS. Results: The profile of those who give the correct answer regarding the cause of hepatitis B that it is a virus are women (65.3%), aged 40 to 49 (42.8%), by nationality are Macedonian, have higher education (52.8%), 92.8% live in urban areas, 74.3% are married, employed (79.2%) and have a moderate monthly income (68.9). About one‑third of the sample said that loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting also associated with hepatitis B. There is a significant difference in knowledge related to early (prodromal) (symptoms such as cold and flu - fever, runny nose, cough) symptoms of hepatitis infection. Only 17.7% give the correct answer that they register, and 81.7% do not. Jaundice is one of the common symptoms of hepatitis, 32.2% give the correct answer, and 25.8% of the symptoms that are present and common are nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Conclusions: Important knowledge deficits about the routes of hepatitis B transmission/prevention were identified. Continued efforts should be made to develop and implement hepatitis B educational campaigns/health promotion for these communities.

Knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B among households in Malaysia: a community-based cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B (HepB) is a major public health concern in Malaysia yet little is known about knowledge and awareness of this infection in the country. Such information is essential for designing effective intervention strategies for HepB prevention and control. The aim of this study was to characterize knowledge and awareness regarding HepB in Malaysia and to identify their associated sociodemographic determinants.

METHODS

A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and May 2016 in Selangor state of Malaysia. A two-stage cluster random sampling design was used and one adult member of selected households was interviewed face-to-face. Logistic regression was used to estimate the differences in knowledge and awareness between groups.

RESULTS

A total of 764 households completed the interviews and were included in the final analysis. Only 36.9 and 38.8% of the participants had good knowledge and awareness, respectively. The factors associated with good knowledge were being in the 35-44 year age group, Malay ethnicity, high educational attainment and high family income. Being Chinese, being older and having high educational attainment were determinants of having good awareness towards HepB. Participants who had good knowledge were 2.5 times more likely to also have good awareness (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.78-3.26, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals a low level of knowledge and awareness of HepB among households in Malaysia. This finding highlights the need to improve public knowledge and awareness through well-designed programs targeting vulnerable groups in order to reduce hepatitis B virus transmission and achieve the governmental target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health concern by 2030.

The relationship between perceptions and self-paid hepatitis B vaccination: A structural equation modeling approach

BACKGROUND

Malaysia has a comprehensive, publicly-funded immunization program for hepatitis B (HepB) among infants, but adults must pay for the vaccine. The number of HepB carriers among adults is expected to increase in the future; therefore, we examined the impact of five constructs (cues to action, perceived barriers, perceived benefit, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility) on adults' willingness to pay (WTP) for HepB vaccine; secondarily, we examined the association between perceived barriers and perceived benefits.

METHODS

Adults were selected through a stratified, two-stage cluster community sample in Selangor, Malaysia. The reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the measurement model were assessed before implementing a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the significance of the structural paths.

RESULTS

A total of 728 participants were enrolled. The five constructs all showed adequate internal reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. There was a significant, positive relationship to WTP from constructs (perceived barriers [Path coefficient (β) = 0.082, P = 0.036], perceived susceptibility [β = 0.214, P<0.001], and cues to action [β = 0.166, P<0.001]), and the model all together accounted for 8.8% of the variation in WTP. There was a significant, negative relationship between perceived barriers and perceived benefit [β = -0.261, P<0.001], which accounted for 6.8% of variation in perceived benefit.

CONCLUSIONS

Policy and programs should be targeted that can modify individuals' thoughts about disease risk, their obstacles in obtaining the preventive action, and their readiness to obtain a vaccine. Such programs include educational materials about disease risk and clinic visits that can pair HepB screening and vaccination.

Hepatitis-B vaccination status among dental surgeons in benin city, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

The development of success-oriented hepatitis-B vaccine uptake approach among dental surgeons is dependent on the availability of comprehensive baseline data.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the hepatitis-B vaccination status among dental surgeons in Benin City.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of dental surgeons in Benin City was conducted in May 2011. The questionnaire elicited information on demography, occupational risk rating of contracting hepatitis-B infection, hepatitis-B vaccination status, barriers to uptake of hepatitis vaccine, and suggestions on how to improve hepatitis-B vaccination rates among dental surgeons.

RESULTS

Participation rate in the study was 93.3%. More than half (51.4%) of the respondents were 20-30 years old and 52 (74.3%) were males. The occupational risk of contracting hepatitis-B infection among dental surgeons was rated as either high or very high by 51 (72.9%) of the respondents. Amongst the respondents, 14 (20.0%) had received three doses of the hepatitis-B vaccine, 34 (48.6%) either two doses or a single dose, and 22 (31.4%) were not vaccinated. The major barriers reported among the respondents who were not vaccinated were lack of opportunity and the fear of side effects of the vaccines. The suggested ways to increase the vaccination rate among the respondents in descending order include: Making the vaccine available at no cost (51.4%), educating dentists on the merits of vaccination (17.1%), and using the evidence of vaccination as a requirement for annual practicing license renewal (14.3%) and for the employment of dental surgeons (11.4%) and others (2.9%).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed low prevalence of complete hepatitis-B vaccination among the respondents. Improvement in uptake following the respondents' recommendations will serve as a template in developing success-oriented strategies among stakeholders.

Hepatitis B vaccination and infection control practices of Jordanian clinical dental students

The knowledge of occupational hazards from blood-borne viruses, and practices related to cross-infection control were studied in Jordanian dental students. A survey in July 1990 showed that over 90% were aware of the existence of vaccines against hepatitis B virus and most appreciated the possible long-term hepatic sequelae of hepatitis B virus infection. Nearly 50% had already been immunized against hepatitis B and a further 4% intended to be vaccinated. Autoclaves were used by more than 80% for the sterilization of dental instruments.

Occupational injuries to dental personnel

Occupational injuries to dental hospital personnel over 9 years (1980-1988 inclusive) were studied. Some 300 accidents were reported. Over one-half were sharps injuries. Over one-quarter were falls or collisions. Eye injuries accounted for some 10 per cent of incidents, burns and scalds the remainder. Serious complications were rare, but many of the injuries could have been avoided.