Hepatitis B vaccination coverage of healthcare workers at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified hepatitis B (HB) as a major global health problem, estimating that globally there are 2 billion people who have been exposed to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (WHO, 2012). Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of being infected with HBV since they may be exposed to blood and blood by-products. It is therefore highly recommended that they should be vaccinated against HBV. But even though the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development have published interim protocols (IPs) recommending that HCWs should be vaccinated, this is done on a voluntary basis and previous studies have shown that the uptake of the HBV vaccine is low among Gauteng HCWs. This study aimed to investigate the HB vaccination coverage of HCW’s at CHBH. This was a quantitative descriptive study which made use of a self-administered questionnaire with closed ended questions, distributed to 400 HCWs (100 doctors and 300 nurses) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (CHBH), Johannesburg, Gauteng Province. Methods&Materials: Thiswas a quantitative descriptive study which made use of a self-administered questionnaire with closed ended questions, distributed to 400 HCWs (100 doctors and 300 nurses) at CHBH hospital. Results: The overall response rate was 86.3% (345/400). Of the respondents, 55.7% (192/345) had received at least one dose of HB vaccine, andonly15.4% (53/345)were fullyvaccinatedwith threeor more HB vaccination doses. Most HCWs were not fully vaccinated, with 15.4% (53/345) having received three or more doses. A higher proportion (26.7% [23/86]) of doctors than nurses (11.6% [30/259]) had received three or more doses. Of those who had received at least one dose of HB vaccine, the majority (80% [154/192]) had not received 3 doses of HB vaccination. Conclusion: The Department of Health and Social Development in Gauteng Province highly recommends that HCWs should be vaccinated against HBV unfortunately vaccination is done on a voluntary basis. It is strongly recommended that HB vaccination for HCWs should be legislated in SA in order to increase vaccination coverage for the benefit of both the patient and HCW.