Knowledge, Attitude, Practices, and Associated Factor towards Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Health Care Professionals at Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021: A Cross Sectional Study

Vaccination coverage of hepatitis B and associated factors among health care workers in Gansu province

The investigation was conducted to describe the status of coverage of HBV vaccination among the health care workers in Gansu province and to explore the associated factors of HBV vaccination in this study. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1544 health care workers from 64 hospitals in Gansu province. A self-designed questionnaire was used to interview the health care workers about HBV vaccination coverage. A multivariate logistic regression model explored the associated factors with HBV vaccination. The vaccination coverage was 89.17% for health care workers, nurses (90.40%) had the highest rate, followed by administration staff (89.38%) and medical technicians (89.30%). The full-dose HBV vaccination coverage was 64.25% for health care workers, and administration staff (65.04%) had the highest rate, followed by nurses (65.00%). This study found that the associated factors with HBV vaccination and full-dose vaccination were the history of training and the detection of serological indicators. The coverage of HBV vaccination among health care workers in Gansu province was high, but full-dose HBV vaccination coverage was low. It is necessary to strengthen the HBV knowledge and training in HBV prevention and treatment among health care workers in Gansu Province.

Practice on hepatitis B virus infection prevention and associated factors in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B infection due to poor practices can result in prolonged hospital stays, long-term disability, increased microbial resistance, financial burdens and death. There has been no comprehensive study assessing the practice level of hepatitis B virus infection prevention in Ethiopia despite the high risk of exposure. Thus, this review aimed to assess practice on hepatitis B virus infection prevention in Ethiopia.

METHODS

For published studies, we conducted a thorough search of the PubMed, African Journal Online, Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar databases. The data were exported to STATA version 11 (STATA Corp LLC) for meta-analysis. Heterogeneity between the results of the primary studies was assessed using Cochran's Q chi-square test and quantified with I2 statistics. A random effect model, specifically the DerSimonian and Laird pooled estimate method, was used due to the presence of heterogeneity between the included articles.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Initially, 1738 articles were retrieved through electronic database searching. Of these, 910 were from Google Scholar, 4 from PubMed, 378 from Science Direct, 421 from African Journal Online and 25 from the Cochrane Library. The pooled estimate showed that 41.54% (95% CI: 33.81-49.27, P < 0.001) of individuals had a good practice towards hepatitis B virus infection prevention. Good knowledge of HBV infection prevention (POR = 1.13, 95% CI: (0.28-4.46) and urban residence (POR = 4.27, 95% CI: 1.17-15.49) were factors significantly associated with practices aimed at preventing hepatitis B virus infection. Based on the findings of the current study, most of the participants reported poor practices for hepatitis B virus infection prevention. Residence and knowledge of hepatitis B virus prevention were significantly associated with practices aimed at preventing hepatitis B virus infection. The Ministry of Health should collaborate with the health bureau for continual awareness about the mode of transmission and preventive measures of HBV.

Hepatitis B in Healthcare Personnel: An Update on the Global Landscape

Despite the outstanding progress that has been made in the prevention, detection, and management of hepatitis B during the past decades, hepatitis B remains a problem among healthcare personnel (HCP) in many countries. We reviewed studies on all aspects of hepatitis B in HCP published from 2017 through April 2023. They revealed wide variations on the prevalence of infection among HCP, ranging from 0.6% in Europe to >8.7% in Africa, almost always in association with very low vaccination rates. Many studies found a significant association between HCP's knowledge about hepatitis B and hepatitis B vaccines, their vaccination status, and practices. This research also discloses global inequities regarding vaccination policies against hepatitis B, free-of-charge vaccinations, and access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Strategies to prevent and manage accidental exposures are needed in order to reduce the burden of hepatitis B on HCP, while written policies for all aspects of infection prevention, protective equipment, and PEP should be available. Lastly, HCP should be accordingly educated. These are all imperative given the decline of routine vaccinations in the COVID-19 era, particularly in countries with fragile vaccination programs, and the disruptions of interventions for hepatitis B that are expected to provide a pool of virus transmission to future generations.