Understanding Hepatitis B-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Nurses of a Selected Tertiary Hospital in...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a global health concern, with nurses being particularly vulnerable to occupational exposure. In Bangladesh, however, there is limited understanding of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of nurses concerning HBV, highlighting a significant gap in research and awareness. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the KAP of nurses regarding HBV.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 nurses through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire, employing a convenience sample technique. Different statistical tools, including frequency distribution, Box and Whisker plot, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used in data analysis.

The average age of the participants was 34.5 years, and most of the participants were female (83%). Nurses' vaccination uptake was 70.8% This study revealed that nurses' knowledge scores have a median of 0.77 (Interquartile range (IQR): 0.13). The Attitude scores, with a median of 0.88 (IQR: 0.25), and the practice scores was 0.87 (IQR: 0.38) regarding HBV. The nonparametric test demonstrated significant (p = 0.046) variation of knowledge among nurses across their age groups and young-aged nurses showed better knowledge score. On the other hand, nurses' attitudes and practice behaviors significantly differed by their sex. Female nurses demonstrated higher attitude scores than male nurses [median attitude score: 0.88 (95% CI: 0.81-0.99) vs. 0.75 (95% CI: 0.74-0.88); p = 0.005]. Similarly, female nurses showed higher practice scores [median practice score: 0.87 (95% CI: 0.69-0.98) vs. 0.75 (95% CI: 0.62-0.87); p = 0.034].

Nurses' KAP were found to be unsatisfactory. Knowledge was differed significantly across age groups. Furthermore, significant sex-based differences were observed in attitudes and practices, with female nurses demonstrating more favorable attitudes and better practices than male counterparts.