ASSESSMENT OF HEPATITIS B VACCINE UTILIZATION AMONG HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AT ST. PAUL’S HOSPITAL MILLENNIUM MEDICAL COLLEGE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: People at high risk for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) include health care workers (HCWs) in contact with blood and human secretions. HBV is unique compared to other sexually transmitted diseases, because it can be prevented with vaccine which is highly efficacious that protects against HBV infection 90- 100%. However, little is known about the utilization of the vaccination among health care professionals in Ethiopia. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess hepatitis B Vaccine utilization and potential factors for not getting vaccinated among health care professionals at St Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Methods: Institutional based cross sectional analytic study was conducted on health care workers (HCWs) at St Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College. Systematic random sampling technique was employed to select eligible study participants from list of health workers. Data was collected by self-administered questionnaires and analysis was performed with SPSS. Results: A total of 266 health care professionals participated in this study with response rate of 100%. Among which 138 (51.9%) of them were vaccinated. Out of those who are vaccinated 21 (15.2%) took only one dose while 51 (37.0%) and 66 (47.8%) took two and three doses respectively. In multivariate analysis socio-demographic factors didn’t show significant association while using of infection prevention [AOR: 80.14, 95% CI, (9.05 1107.82)], HBV screening [AOR: 175.90, 95% CI, (238.08-1299.65)] and encountering exposure to HBV [AOR: 6.16, 95% CI, (1.402-27.059)] were associated significantly with HBV vaccine utilization. Conclusion and Recommendation: In this study 51.9% of HCWs have received at least one dose of HBV vaccine which is relatively better than other studies done in Ethiopia but still compared to the threat HBV pose to HCWs. There is a need to promote hepatitis B virus screening and vaccination among health care professionals the ministry of health and hospitals should play its part by increasing health care budgets and put priority on hepatitis B prevention by establishing a national awareness campaign, spreading screening and vaccination services all over public hospitals