Hepatitis B vaccination status and associated factors among federal road safety corp personnel, Katsina State, Nigeria
Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. It remains a major occupational health hazard among health care workers and paramedics especially during rescue mission. The Road safety personnel are at even greater risk due to poorer compliance with universal safety precautions during rescue missions. The Federal Road Safety Corp personnel are amongst those persons at risk of acquiring HBV infection that WHO recommended for Catch-up hepatitis B vaccination strategies. However, the current vaccination status of the FRSC personnel is unknown.
Aim and Objectives: To assess the Knowledge, HBV vaccination status and associated risk factors among Federal Road Safety Corp Personnel in Katsina State, North-western, Nigeria.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 180 Federal Road Safety Personnel in Katsina state North Western Nigeria. Data was collected electronically using Kobo Collect tool (KCT) that contained pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 24. Univariate (Tables, graphs and charts), bivariate (Chi-square) and multivariate analyses (Binary logistic regression) were used to determine the relationships between categorical variables with a significance level set at p ≤ 0.05.
Result: Only 15% of the respondents had good knowledge of hepatitis B infections. The mean knowledge score was 10.28 ± 4.16. The proportion of respondents with good knowledge of HBV was higher among personnel that were aged ≥ 50 years (29.4%) as compared to those aged < 50 years (11.6%). Only one- third (36.0%) of the respondents were vaccinated with required doses of hepatitis B vaccines whereas more than two-fifth (42.8%) of the respondents had zero dose of the Vaccines. Personnel with years of service less than 10 years are 2.3% less likely to be vaccinated as compared to those that spent 10 or more years in service. Those who had never been transferred are 36% less likely to be vaccinated compared to those who had been transferred before.
Conclusion: The knowledge of hepatitis B virus infection and HBV vaccine uptake among Federal Road Safety Personnel was poor. Years of service and being transferred from one-unit command to another were independent factors associated with vaccine uptake. The FRSC in collaboration with the State Ministries of Health should organize public awareness and sensitization campaigns on HBV infection and develop a written policy on pre-employment and periodic vaccination against HBV infection.
Keywords: Hepatitis B, Knowledge, Katsina Northwestern Nigeria, Vaccination status
*Corresponding: lawalkuki@gmail.com, 08036004648
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