[Acceptance of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine by health personnel]

To find the level of acceptance of the recombinant anti-Hepatitis B vaccination by our area's health staff as well as the reasons why some staff had not been vaccinated.

A descriptive study of a crossover type (cross-sectional), with data-gathering by means of a self-administered questionnaire.

Primary Care teams (PCT) in Asturias Area III (Avilés county) and their referral hospital.

379 health workers (115 from PCT and 264 from the referral hospital) from Asturias Area III, with a simple random sample selection based on the Area's staff lists.

34 of the subjects under study stated that they were immune prior to vaccination. Out of those without immunity, and therefore available for vaccination, 77.1% (80.9% doctors, 88.5% nurses and 57.7% auxiliary staff) accepted vaccination. There were no significant differences between PCT and hospital, except for auxiliary staff, for whom there were more vaccinations in the hospital. Doctors and nurses, independently of the work centre, were vaccinated to a significantly greater extent than the auxiliary staff. Among those who were not vaccinated, the main reason for refusing the vaccination was laziness or lack of interest (36.1% in PCT and 44.1% in hospital).

Hepatitis B vaccination in our areas is greater among health staff most exposed to risk of contagion. Despite the high vaccination rate, an important number of staff remain non-vaccinated, mainly because of their own lack of interest. This must be borne in mind when vaccination programmes are being designed.