Practices Relating to Hepatitis B Virus Infection Prevention and Its Determinants among Health Care Workers in the HO Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Two billion individuals worldwide have evidence of past and recent HBV infection, and more than 257 million people are living with the infection. In addition, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen is highest (≥8%) in underdeveloped countries including Ghana (with a prevalenceof 12.3%). Meanwhile,Hepatitis B preventive measures are not routinely practiced by some health care workersin the country. Theincreasedrisk of infection among health care workers is due to theirexposure to blood and bodily fluidsbecause of the nature of their work. However, there is a paucity of data in Ghana regarding healthcare workers'practice of preventive measures concerning HBV infection. Objective: This study assessed the practices relating to hepatitis B infection prevention and its determinants among health care workers in the Ho Municipality, Ghana. Method: The study adopted a cross-sectional design using a quantitative method in a hospital-based survey. A structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to collect data. Three hundred and seventy-two (372) health care workers participated in the study over a period of eight weeks. Data collected was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analysed with Stata version 15. Results: Findings from the study revealed that only 16.12% of the health care workers followed standard practice of prevention measures for hepatitis B. Factors associated with the proper practice of prevention measures for hepatitis B among health care workers were determined by the department the participants were working in, and availability of dustbin linings (AOR: 3.41, 95% CI: 1.09-10.73, p=0.036). Findings revealed that the health care workers had a high knowledge (69.6%) of the hepatitis B virus infection. However, there was a disconnect between the knowledge of the hepatitis B virus infection, and the practice of prevention measures for the hepatitis B virus infection. The majority (83.52%) of health care workers have however been vaccinated against the infection. There was high availability of PPE (85.35%), handwashing facilities (97.8 %), and dustbin liners (72.16 %) Conclusion: The study concludes that less than half of the participants in the study associated knowledge with proper practices. Also, the high availability of standard precautionary logistics did not translate into proper practice of HBV infection prevention measures among the health care workers. This urgently calls for continuous training of health care workers on infection prevention practices.