Knowledge and Awareness of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Nigeria

The World Health Organisation recently launched a campaign to reduce Hepatitis B Viral Infections by 80% globally. Achieving this goal is partly predicated on proper awareness of persons in regions of high transmission.

The aim of this study was to assess the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection knowledge status of persons across three states in Nigeria.

A descriptive cross-sectional study among 758 persons selected by convenience sampling was conducted from March to July 2016. Structured questionnaires were administered to consenting participants and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods in SPSS V20.

Respondents showed average knowledge with a mean knowledge score of 4.85 ± 2.69 out of a max score of 9.00. Respondents belonging to the working class had significantly better knowledge (5.59 ± 2.34 p < 0.001) than respondents in other categories. High-risk behaviour such as having multiple partners was predominant among respondents belonging to a public institution. A total of 242 (31.96%) of study respondents were aware of the existence of a vaccine for HBV, whereas only 161 (21.2%) had received at least one dose of vaccination against HBV. Previous knowledge of HBV infection, previous HBV testing, and knowing someone who had HBV infection were predictors of HBV infection knowledge as well as vaccination.

This study has shown the urgent need for intervention targeted at raising awareness about HBV infection and the existence of a vaccine.