TY - JOUR AU - Gurung, Deepa AU - Chaudhary, Bikash AU - Joshi, Ujjwal AU - Shrestha, Manash PY - 2021/06/19 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Dental healthcare worker’s knowledge and attitude on hepatitis B infection and their uptake of hepatitis B vaccination at a tertiary care center in Nepal JF - Journal of Chitwan Medical College JA - JCMC VL - 11 IS - 2 SE - Original Research Articles DO - UR - https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JCMC/article/view/37883 SP - 23-28 AB - <p><strong>Background</strong>: Hepatitis B is a serious public health problem and dental healthcare workers (HCW) are at a greater risk of acquiring the infection. The main aim of this study was to as­sess the knowledge, attitude, and hepatitis B vaccination status of dental HCW at a tertiary dental hospital.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was carried out among all dental HCW and their knowledge lev­el, attitude, and vaccine uptake were measured. Factors associated with the receipt of full hepatitis B vaccination was assessed using Pearson’s chi-square test. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of the total 254 dental HCW, 207 responded to the survey signifying a response rate of 81.5%. The mean age of the participants was 25.6±5.4 years. A majority of the participants were female (156; 75.4%), unmarried (169; 81.6%), and dental students (117; 56.5%). Most participants had a fair knowledge (117; 56.5%) and a positive attitude regarding Hepatitis B virus (189; 91.3%). However, the uptake of full dose of hepatitis B vaccine was only 41.5%. Dental HCW’s age, marital status, educational attainment, and type of dental HCW were associated with receipt of full vac­cination (all p-value &lt;0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite fair knowledge and positive attitude, the uptake of full vaccination was low among the dental HCW. Further strategies are needed to improve the hepatitis B vaccine uptake. Specifically, increasing the access</p> ER -