Volume 27, Issue 132, February 2023

Assessment of knowledge, awareness and vaccination compliance of hepatitis B among students of health colleges of Al-Baha University

Turki H Alkully¹, Saleem A Algamdi^2♦, Bandar A Alomari², Basil S Alghamdi², Rayan A Alghamdi², Mohannad S Alghamdi², Turki A Alzahrani²

¹Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia
²Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Viral hepatitis is a blood-borne liver infection that is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is preventable disease through immunization. Medical students are at higher risk of HBV contraction due to occupational exposure. Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge and awareness of Hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccination and vaccination compliance among the students of health colleges of Al-Baha University. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out using a close-ended survey of 394 medical students at Al-Baha University and the collected data was statistically analyzed using the SPSS tool. Results: The descriptive analysis revealed that more of the participants were males (73%) than females (26.9%). Most of the participants (92%) were not infected with HBV. About 50% reported not receiving HBV vaccination. In terms of awareness among respondents, 43.60% were not aware of the length of dosses that they need to achieve full immunity while 57.11% were aware of the protection of vaccine against HBV infection. About, 71.07% of the respondents think of Hep B as liver disease and are aware of its immunization as a preventive measure. However, some participants (44%) were not aware of symptomless HBV. Conclusion: HBV is a complicated viral infection. The knowledge of vaccination was not enough among students of Al-Baha University and therefore, it is recommended to increase the awareness and knowledge of medical students as they are at higher risk of contracting HBV infection.

Keywords: HBV, awareness, knowledge, hepatitis, vaccination, Al-Baha

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e71ms2698

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v27i132/e71ms2698

Published: 05 February 2023