Perceived Risk, Willingness for Vaccination and Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccine among Health Care Workers of a Specialist Hospital in Nigeria

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of contracting HBV infection from occupational exposure. In spite of this, many HCWs are often not keen on getting vaccinated. Studies have reported the perception of risk among other factors as frequent reasons against Vaccination. The aim of this study was to assess the perceived risk, willingness for vaccination and uptake of hepatitis B vaccine among HCWs of a specialist hospital in Nigeria. Methodology: The study was conducted among 209 HCWs of a specialist hospital, Ondo state, Nigeria. A hospital based cross-sectional design, with structured questionnaire used in data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to identify general characteristics of the sample. Bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression were also performed. Results: About 62.7% of HCWs perceived self to be at high risk of contracting HBV while 37.3% perceived self to be at low risk. Ninety-seven percent of the HCWs were willing to receive the vaccine although 31.1% had fears about the side effects of the vaccine. Knowledge of HBV, educational level, age, and duration of practice were significantly associated with perceived risk. Perceived risk of contracting HBV (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20-6.20), knowledge of HBV (AOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.31-5.84) and HCWs educational level (AOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.02-4.51) were identified as predictors of willingness for vaccination. Conclusions: Perception of risk for HBV among HCWs was relatively low although willingness for vaccination was high. Intervention to improve perception and correct fears are required.