| dc.description.abstract | Introduction
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global public health challenge, with approximately 257 million people worldwide affected with chronic infections, with the highest in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority acquire infection through perinatal periods and vaccination is the key intervention to prevent transmission. In Uganda, the Hep B birth dose vaccination was added to the routine immunization schedule in October 2022. Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a vital role in the successful implementation of this vaccination program.
The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers regarding Hepatitis B birth dose vaccination in Kawempe National Referral Hospital.
Method: A total of 162 healthcare workers were recruited in a cross-sectional descriptive quantitative study done at KNRH who directly handle pregnant and post-natal mothers employing stratified simple random, Data was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire after getting informed consent, checked for completeness, and entered in epidata manager for analysis using SPSS.
Results
Nearly all participants were aware of Hepatitis B-BD vaccination (98.8%) and its preventability (99.4%). However, a notable percentage (42.6%) expressed uncertainty regarding the contraindications, side effects, and dosage of HepB-BD vaccination overall about 56% of participants had good knowledge. Attitudes varied among participants, with around half (52.5%) believing that the vaccine is effective and necessary for all babies, while a significant portion (81.5%) expressed fear of contracting Hepatitis B from administering the vaccine.
Regarding practices, only 45.1% of participants had actively participated in HepB-BD vaccination activities. Nevertheless, a high percentage (95.1%) indicated their willingness to recommend the vaccine to close relatives or friends.
Conclusion; Over half of health workers had moderate to good levels of knowledge and attitudes towards HepB-BD vaccination. However, their practices were rated as poor (66.1%), indicating a gap between knowledge and implementation
Recommendations; Enhance mass sensitization programs for healthcare workers on the significance of HepB birth dose to reduce delays and improve attitudes. Provide mandatory training to all health care workers and utilize health information tools like posters to improve practices in administering and monitoring Hep B birth dose vaccination. | en_US |
