Obstacles to hepatitis B vaccine uptake by health care staff

Abstract

Objectives: (1) To identify reasons for non-uptake of hepatitis B vaccine by health care staff; (2) to determine whether fully vaccinated staff are aware of the need to consider booster vaccinations in the future. Design: Semi-structured anonymous questionnaire survey of health care staff. Setting: Croydon health district, south London. Subjects: 462 health care staff. Results: 300 staff (65%) responded. The reasons given by staff for non-uptake included fear of side-effects or injections, misconceptions about hepatitis B transmission, the alternative use of homeopathic vaccine, pressure of work, difficulties in arranging vaccination, forgetfulness, and `inertia'. Of the 54 unvaccinated staff, 55.6% believed themselves to be at high risk of contracting hepatitis B as a result of their occupation; 33% of 202 fully vaccinated staff were unaware of the use of booster doses of vaccine to maintain long-term immunity. Conclusions: The level of awareness and understanding about hepatitis B vaccination of any group of health care staff should not be assumed. A number of specific educational and organisational issues need to be addressed when implementing staff vaccination programmes. Without the use of automatic call-recall systems the long-term success of staff hepatitis B vaccination programmes may be in doubt.