Abstract
Background:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection disproportionally affects populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Lack of HBV awareness perpetuates disease burden in Africa.Objective:To promote HBV awareness in Tanzania using a systematic, measurable, and expandable approach to educating health care workers (HCW).Methods:We designed and implemented an HBV knowledge and teaching skills session in southern Tanzania to empower HCWs in leading education to promote disease awareness in their communities. Training was divided into two sessions: didactic and practical. A five-question anonymous survey was distributed in person immediately before and after the practical portion of the training to evaluate HBV knowledge as well as specific skills for teaching. Differences between responses before and after the sessions were evaluated by Chi-Square analysis. A sub-group of questions were further analyzed for differences based on HCW self-report of HBV serostatus awareness.Findings:130 HCWs participated in the didactic lecture and 30 HCWs participated in both portions. A pre-post training five-question survey showed an increase in correct answers for all questions, with two showing statistical significance: HBV is silent (7% pre vs. 87% post; p < 0.0001), and repetition as key to promote awareness (63% pre vs. 100% post; p = 0.0002).Conclusions:Our low-cost intervention is applicable to increase HBV awareness in low resource settings across Africa.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection disproportionally affects populations in subSaharan Africa
In chronic HBV, awareness is critical as the majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic until they develop cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), at which point those living in resource-limited settings are presented with very few options to prolong survival or improve quality of life
Community education is an essential, durable and sustainable solution to tackle the needs of preventing HBV and its complications; education can lead to vaccination and testing with appropriate linkage of patients to health care before irreversible sequelae of HBV occur [1]
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection disproportionally affects populations in subSaharan Africa. Lack of HBV awareness perpetuates disease burden in Africa. Unlike other chronic infectious diseases (i.e., HIV), there is a lack of awareness about HBV in communities across the continent. Awareness about HBV among the general public is even lower; globally, roughly 10.5% of people with chronic hepatitis B infection know their HBV status [3]. Community education is an essential, durable and sustainable solution to tackle the needs of preventing HBV and its complications; education can lead to vaccination and testing with appropriate linkage of patients to health care before irreversible sequelae of HBV occur [1]
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