Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection creates a global health burden with significant morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers, including nurses and midwives, are at higher risk of acquiring the disease. While health-related behaviours are affected by different aspects of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP), there are few studies examining the KAP level of healthcare workers towards HBV infection in Sudan. The purpose of this study was to examine the KAP level of nurses and midwives towards HBV virus infection in Khartoum, Sudan.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based study was conducted in two public maternity hospitals (Saudi and Saad Abul-Eleella hospitals) in Khartoum state of, Sudan. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was constructed and implemented to examine KAP towards HBV infection. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version of 21 was utilized to conduct statistical analysis and examine the data at hand. Chi-square test was used implemented to determine the relationship between categorical variables.ResultsA total of 110 nurses and midwives from the both hospitals participated in this study. More than half of the respondents (58.2%) had an average level of knowledge, two-third of the respondents had a safe practice, and the majority of the respondents had a favourable attitude towards HBV preventive measures. Approximately half of the participants (51.8%) had a history of needle stick injuries. Half of the participants had inaccurate concepts about post exposure prophylaxis to HBV infection, while more than half of the nurses and midwives didn’t complete the vaccination schedule for HBV.ConclusionMost of the nurses and midwives in Saudi and Saad Abul-Eleella hospitals were aware of HBV infection. However, a significant proportion of the participants lack the requisite knowledge about post exposure management. The study revealed a low level of HBV vaccination coverage rate and a high rate of needle stick injuries. Further strategies for preventing workplace exposure, training programs on HBV infection, including post exposure prophylaxis, and increasing vaccination coverage rate of all HCWS are highly recommended.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection creates a global health burden with significant morbidity and mortality
This study examined the KAP towards HBV among nurses and midwives in two public hospitals specialized in obstetrics and gynaecology services in Khartoum, Sudan
The differences may be attributed to the inclusion of a broader range of professions in the aforementioned study conducted in the White Nile state in Sudan, which considered all Healthcare workers (HCWs) occupations, compared to this study which focused on nurses and midwives
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection creates a global health burden with significant morbidity and mortality. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection creates a global health burden with significant morbidity and mortality from both acute infection and chronic complications, including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma [1,2,3,4,5]. Khartoum State had the highest prevalence of HBV infection in Sudan with a proportion of 12.7% [1]. Likewise, this rate is comparable to other African countries such as Burundi (15.6%), Central African Republic (14%), while it is higher than Nigeria (5%) and Ethiopia (7%) [2]
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