Prevalence and geo-clinicodemographic factors associated with hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers in five developing countries

Precious Adade DUODU, Ernest DARKWAH, Pascal AGBADI, Henry Ofori DUAH, Jerry John NUTOR*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background
There is a four-fold risk for hepatitis B infection among healthcare workers compared to the general population. Due to limited access to diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B in many resource-constrained settings, there is a real risk that only few healthcare workers with viral hepatitis may get screened or diagnosed and treated. Studies on hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers in developing countries are sparse and this bodes ill for intervention and support. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence and explored the associated factors that predicted the uptake of the required, full dosage of hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers (HCWs) in five developing countries using nationally representative data.

Methods
We used recent datasets from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program’s Service Provision Assessment Survey. Descriptive summary statistics and logistic regressions were used to produce the results. Statistical significance was pegged at p 
Results
The proportion of HCWs who received the required doses of hepatitis B vaccine in Afghanistan, Haiti, Malawi, Nepal, and Senegal were 69.1%, 11.3%, 15.4%, 46.5%, and 17.6%, respectively. Gender, occupational qualification, and years of education were significant correlates of receiving the required doses of hepatitis B among HCWs.

Conclusions
Given the increased risk of hepatitis B infection among healthcare workers, policymakers in developing countries should intensify education campaigns among HCWs and, perhaps, must take it a step further by making hepatitis B vaccination compulsory and a key requirement for employment, especially among those workers who regularly encounter bodily fluids of patients.
Original languageEnglish
Article number599
JournalBMC Infectious Diseases
Volume22
Issue number1
Early online date7 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank the Service Provision Assessment Survey DHS project for their support and for free access to the original data used in this study.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Developing Countries
  • Health Personnel
  • Hepatitis B/epidemiology
  • Hepatitis B Vaccines/therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Prevalence
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Vaccination
  • Hepatitis B vaccination
  • Healthcare workers

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