Abstract
Background and aimVietnam’s burden of liver cancer is largely due to its high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aimed to examine healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HBV prevention and management.MethodsA cross-sectional survey among health care workers working at primary and tertiary facilities in two Northern provinces in Vietnam in 2017. A standardized questionnaire was administered to randomly selected HCWs. Multivariate regression was used to identify predictors of the HBV knowledge score.ResultsAmong the 314 participants, 75.5% did not know HBV infection at birth carries the highest risk of developing chronic infection. The median knowledge score was 25 out of 42 (59.5%). About one third (30.2%) wrongly believed that HBV can be transmitted through eating or sharing food with chronic hepatitis B patients. About 38.8% did not feel confident that the hepatitis B vaccine is safe. Only 30.1% provided correct answers to all the questions on injection safety. Up to 48.2% reported they consistently recap needles with two hands after injection, a practice that would put them at greater risk of needle stick injury. About 24.2% reported having been pricked by a needle at work within the past 12 months. More than 40% were concerned about having casual contact or sharing food with a person with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB). In multivariate analysis, physicians scored significantly higher compared to other healthcare professionals. Having received training regarding hepatitis B within the last two years was also significantly associated with a better HBV knowledge score.ConclusionsFindings from the survey indicated an immediate need to implement an effective hepatitis B education and training program to build capacity among Vietnam’s healthcare workers in hepatitis B prevention and control and to dispel hepatitis B stigma.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious global public health problem that can cause chronic infection and puts people at risk for premature death from cirrhosis and liver cancer
Among the 314 participants, 75.5% did not know HBV infection at birth carries the highest risk of developing chronic infection
More than 40% were concerned about having casual contact or sharing food with a person with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB)
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious global public health problem that can cause chronic infection and puts people at risk for premature death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is an estimated 257 million people living with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) in the world [1]. According to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease’s study, chronic HBV infection accounts for about 42% of all liver cancer deaths [3]. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence were reported to be as high as 15–20% in the general population [4,5,6,7] with an estimated 9.6 million people living with CHB [8]. Vietnam’s burden of liver cancer is largely due to its high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aimed to examine healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HBV prevention and management
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