Assessing Level of Knowledge and Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccination among Health Care Workers at Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba City, South Sudan.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus (HBV) infection remains a severe problem worldwide. An estimated 240-400 million persons are reported to have chronic HBV infection, and the annual mortality from HBV-related complications including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was 600,000 persons. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of HBV chronic infection is particularly high while in South Sudan, hepatitis B remains a serious problem of public health importance with health care workers being more at greater risk. Vaccination coverage against HBV is low among all age groups, yet vaccination status among health care workers is not even known in South Sudan. This study aimed at assessing viral hepatitis B vaccination uptake among health care workers at Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba City, South Sudan.

Objective: To assess the uptake of viral hepatitis B vaccination among health care workers in Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba City, South Sudan.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted targeting 154 health workers. A convenient sampling procedure was used to recruit study participants. Questionnaires were used to collect data. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Chi-square tests were used to determine the association between the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and individual and health facility factors. Multivariable analysis was conducted. Adjusted OR was used to interpret the findings.

Results: Uptake of hepatitis B vaccination was found to be low at 44.20%, only 48.8% had received one dose, 29.1% received two doses, and 22.1% had received all three doses. Being married ( p ≤ 0.008), knowing that hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination ( p ≤ 0.001), knowing that HBV can be got through unprotected sexual intercourse ( p ≤ 0.001), awareness of where to get hepatitis B vaccination from ( p ≤ 0.001), availability of vaccines in the health facility ( p ≤ 0.027), and availability of guidelines followed by all health workers in this facility ( p ≤ 0.006) were the factors independently associated with the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination.

Conclusion: The uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among health workers at Juba Teaching Hospital was low (22.1%), putting health workers at great risk of HBV infection. Having knowledge about hepatitis B vaccination and unprotected sexual intercourse were individual factors associated with hepatitis B vaccination. Availability of the vaccine and vaccination guidelines were the health-related factors associated with hepatitis B vaccination. The government of South Sudan through the Ministry of Health should first track approval of the viral hepatitis B vaccination policy and ensure that it is adopted and implemented by all hospitals. Health care workers must be prioritized and mandatorily vaccinated against viral hepatitis B.