Adherence and Effectiveness of HBV Vaccination among Healthcare Workers in Egypt

Healthcare workers (HCWs) face a potential risk of acquiring different bloodborne pathogens, by occupational exposure to contaminated blood and body fluids. Hepatitis B vaccine is a safe, effective method of conferring long-term protection against HBV infection.

The study aimed to assess the adherence and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among HCWs at Gastrointestinal Surgical Center, Mansoura University, Egypt.

A prospective descriptive study was carried out between June 2019 and December 2019 at Gastrointestinal Surgical Center, Mansoura University, Egypt.

All HCWs with anti-HBs levels below 10 mIU/mL were advised to receive 3 doses of recombinant HBV vaccine, at 0, 1, and 6 months. The anti-HBs levels were checked 3 months after the third dose of the HBV vaccine.

Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) program for windows (version 16).

A total of 442 healthcare providers were included. Most of them completed the 3 doses of the vaccine (81.7%), 10.2% refused the vaccine, while 0.9% and 7.2% received 1 and 2 doses, respectively. Odds of vaccination were the highest (88.1%, 273/310) among nurses (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 2.6-5.2; P ≤ 0.001). The overall anti-HBs positivity of 97% (350/361) was observed. The main reasons for not being vaccinated included the fear of vaccine side effects 25/81 (30.9%) and lack of trust in the vaccine effectiveness 18/81 (22.2%).

The outcome of the present study emphasizes the need to apply alternative and innovative measures to build a positive attitude toward the HBV vaccine among HCWs.