Uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among staff of an accident and emergency facility in Lagos, southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B vaccine has been available since 1982; it is safe and 95% effective in the prevention of chronic infection in adults and children. People with reasonable exposure to blood and blood products (health workers and those in accident and emergency facilities) ought to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the staff of an accident and emergency facility in Lagos, southwest Nigeria. A pretested, structured, and self-administered questionnaire was used for collection of data on the sociodemographic characteristics and the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among the respondents. The uptake was based on whether the respondents had received the vaccine, the number of doses received (i.e., whether complete or not), and whether they were undergoing a postvaccination test. The responses on the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination was scored and graded as good (≥50%) and poor (<50%). Results: A total of 84 respondents participated in the study. The majority of them (84.5%) had poor uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and the mean uptake score (%) was 24.2 ± 25.0. Among the respondents, 47 (56.0%) had received at least a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, 11 (13.1%) received the three complete doses, while only 7 (9.9%) did a postvaccination test to check immune status. Among the 37 respondents who did not receive any dose of the vaccine before the study was carried out, a majority of them (67.6%) cited nonavailability of the vaccine as the reason for this while four (10.8%) cited cost as the reason. Conclusion: The uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among the staff of the accident and emergency facility was poor mainly due to nonavailability of the vaccine. There is, therefore, a need for the government to provide this vaccine and make it available at an affordable cost for workers. In addition, an immunization policy should be put in place at the facility, and implementation and monitoring should be done to ensure that the staff are immunized and protected against the hepatitis B virus (HBV).