Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of Healthcare Workers on Viral Hepatitis B and its Vaccination in 12 Health Establishments in the Centre Region of Cameroon (original) (raw)

2022, CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo

Introduction: Viral hepatitis B (HBV) is a major public health issue around the globe. At 2020, the WHO estimated that 296 million people were carriers of chronic viral hepatitis B. During the same year, the number of deaths from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was 80%. In 2019, a total of 1.5 million new infections were reported. HBV is most commonly transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids during sexual intercourse with an infected partner, sharing needles, syringes, or preparation materials during injection drug use, and puncturing with a hollow needle or contact with sharp objects. Cameroon is one of the worst hit countries with an HBV prevalence of 11.5%. Healthcare workers (HCWs) who are constantly exposed to a variety of body fluids are at increased risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. It is thus important to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HBV. Methodology: This cross-sectional study took place from February to July 2022. In total, 388 HCWs were recruited for the study. knowledge of HBV, particularly the routes of transmission, attitudes toward HBV, and vaccination practices were evaluated using a well-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS V.25.0. Results: In total, 388 HCWs participated in the study. The recommended pathways for HBV transmission were sexual intercourse, soiled objects, blood transfusion and contact with contaminated blood (100%). Among the participants, 236 (60.8%) gave the correct answers on the signs of viral hepatitis B. Knowledge was significantly associated with the number of years spent in the vaccination service (p<0.0001). Overall, these HCWs possessed a satisfactory level of knowledge of HBV transmission pathways (388, 100%). Of the 388 HCWs, only 65 (16.8%) had a positive attitude towards those infected with HBV. Up to 87 (22.4%) gave incorrect answers regarding the need to test the effectiveness of the vaccine. There was a significant association between the service, the category, the number of years of work, and the attitudes of the staff, as well as with the 3 questions concerning the practice of vaccination, namely the storage temperature of the vaccines, the volume of the dose of vaccine administered and the site of vaccine administration (p<0.05). Conclusion: The level of knowledge regarding the HBV pathway observed in this study is satisfactory. Nevertheless, efforts still need to be redoubled on the attitude of the staff towards infected patients, on taking the full doses of vaccine, and finally on the practice of vaccination, particularly on the storage temperature, the volume, and the administration site. This lack of adequate knowledge may explain the oftenobserved lack of post-vaccination response as knowledge is usually the first step toward modifying desirable behavior.