HEPATITIS B VACCINATION AND POST-VACCINATION TEST AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a life-threatening infection that is amenable to prevention by a

safe and efficacious vaccine. Healthcare workers including medical students are among the high-risk

group for HBV infection. This study is carried out to estimate HBV vaccination coverage and assess the

knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of HBV infection among healthcare workers in a tertiary care

teaching hospital, in Tamil N?du, India Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a

structured questionnaire to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, vaccination status, a set

of knowledge, attitude and practice questions on preventive measures for hepatitis B infection. Results:

The prevalence of complete hepatitis B vaccination 195 (44.2.%) among Health Care Workers (HCWs)

was very low. The remaining 256 (56.8%) of HCWs were either partially vaccinated 128 (28.4%) or nonvaccinated

128 (28.4%). Merely, 8.4% of vaccinated persons were aware of testing of antibody titer

after hepatitis B vaccination. Only 97 (30%) knew the protective values of anti-hepatitis B antibodies.

Study participants had adequate knowledge attitude and practice (KAP) on preventive measures for

Hepatitis B infection (overall KAP score of 100.8 out of 125). Vaccination status was found to be an

independent predictor of the KAP score in the final model predicted using multiple linear regression.

Conclusion: The government and institutions should take proactive measures to vaccinate the

unvaccinated HCWs including the medical students against vaccine-preventable diseases. Also, it is

prudent to perform HBV testing among those already vaccinated or partially vaccinated to determine

their level of protective antibodies.