Nurses' uptake and knowledge concerning vaccination against Hepatitis B

Abstract

Hepatitis B vaccination is an essential safety precaution that should be taken by nurses, since the vaccine would protect them against the Hepatitis B infection. However, some studies show that uptake amongst healthcare workers may be unsatisfactory and therefore, their risk of getting infected with Hepatitis B vims increases. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure the uptake of the hepatitis B vaccine and examine nurses' knowledge of important issues related to Hepatitis B infection and vaccination among nurses working in medical and surgical wards at a Local General Hospital in Malta. The research design was a descriptive cross-sectional approach. Data was collected by means of self-administered questionnaires distributed to a sample of twenty nurses working in different wards at the General Hospital of Malta. All twenty nurses responded to the questionnaire. The data gathered revealed that the majority of nurses are aware and knowledgeable on Hepatitis B. However, some knowledge deficits in relation to the vaccine were identified. The majority of the nurses took up the Hepatitis B vaccination and most of them did complete the full course of vaccination but most of these did not get their antibody titre measured to indicate whether they are immune adequately or not to Hepatitis B. Most of the nurses have received information on Hepatitis B during their nursing course of studies. The study includes a discussion on the findings and limitations of the study together with some recommendations.