Hepatitis B Vaccine: Coverage and Factors Relating to its Acceptance among Health Care Workers of a Tertiary Care Center in North India

Background: Hepatitis B infection is the major cause of acute and chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide and has long been recognized as an occupational hazard among health care workers. Thus, this study was planned to evaluate the coverage of hepatitis B vaccine and to study occupational, epidemiologic, and attitudinal factors in its acceptance among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs of MM Institute of Medical sciences and Research, Mullana. A total of 600 health care workers were selected for the study by simple random sampling method. A self designed, semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect data from the participants by interview method. Data on demographic, behavioral, and occupational exposure aspects were also collected. Results: The overall prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination acceptance was 60%. Only 40% of the health workers had received the full three dose vaccination schedule while 20% had received one or two doses, and 40% were unvaccinated. Protection against hepatitis B was cited the most common (54%) reason for taking this vaccine. The most important reasons for not taking the vaccine were negligence (41.6%), whereas the commonest (45%) ground cited for not taking the recommended number of dosage was the lack of knowledge about the total number of doses to be taken for full protection. On multiple logistic regression, vaccine safety (AOR = 6.57, 95% CI = 2.64-16.04) followed by history of exposure to blood (AOR = 5.21, 95% CI = 1.81-16.16) and acceptable knowledge about the disease (AOR = 4.76, 95% CI = 1.13-11.45) were identifi ed as reasons for acceptance of the vaccine. Conclusions: Coverage of complete immunization was low among health care workers. Level of knowledge regarding the disease was also not satisfactory. Education programs should focus on increasing healthcare workers’ perceived severity to occupational exposure to hepatitis B virus and emphasize the safety and effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccine. Vaccines should be made available free and mandatory in health organizations.