Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Staff Towards Hepatitis B Prevention in Raparin Independent Administrative Area

Section: Research Paper
Issue
Vol. 47 No. 2 (2025): Volume 47 Issue 2
Published
Dec 29, 2025
Pages
174-184

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B remains a serious global health issue, with healthcare workers at higher risk because of frequent contact with blood and body fluids in their work.


Aim: The assessment of knowledge ,attitude, and practice of health staff in the Raparin independent administration area toward hepatitis B prevention.


Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 513 health care workers from health facilities in Raparin independent administrative area and conducted between October 2024 and July 2025 using a multistage sampling method . Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire to assess participants' demographic details and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding hepatitis B. The data were analyzed in SPSS v27 using both descriptive and inferential statistics.


Results: Out of 513 health care workers, 70.8% had good knowledge. Most participants were aware of how the hepatitis B virus spreads; however, only 38.2% knew about the presence of post-exposure prophylaxis, and just 9.2% were knew of the type of vaccine, 88.1% had a positive attitude. While 51.3% demonstrated good practice, only 51% had completed all three vaccine doses. Better knowledge was significantly associated with age, marital status, profession, education level, work unit, and years of experience. Younger, single, doctors, those with higher certification degrees, and dental staff tended to score higher in knowledge.


Conclusion: Overall, healthcare workers demonstrated good knowledge with a median score of 75% (IQR: 15), positive attitudes with a median score of 88.9% (IQR: 22), and good practices with a median score of 70% (IQR: 30).


 

References

  1. Dusheiko G, Agarwal K, Maini MK. New approaches to chronic hepatitis B. New England Journal of Medicine. 2023;388(1):55-69.DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra2211764.
  2. Thio CL. Hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus coinfection. Hepatology. 2009;49(S5):S138-S45.DOI 10.1002/hep.22883.
  3. Aljofan M, Netter HJ, Aljarbou AN, Hadda TB, Orhan IE, Sener B, Mungall BA. Anti-hepatitis B activity of isoquinoline alkaloids of plant origin. Archives of virology. 2014;159:1119-28.DOI 10.1007/s00705-013-1937-7.
  4. Salama II, Sami SM, Said ZN, Salama SI, Rabah TM, Abdel-Latif GA, et al. Early and long term anamnestic response to HBV booster dose among fully vaccinated Egyptian children during infancy. Vaccine. 2018;36(15):2005-11.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.02.103
  5. MacLachlan JH, Cowie BC. Hepatitis B virus epidemiology. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. 2015;5(5):a021410.doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a021410.
  6. Jefferies M, Rauff B, Rashid H, Lam T, Rafiq S. Update on global epidemiology of viral hepatitis and preventive strategies. World journal of clinical cases. 2018;6(13):589.DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v6.i13.589.
  7. Majeed YH. Hepatitis B surface antigen prevalence among screened populations and certain risk groups in AL-Anbar governorate, West of Iraq. Al-Anbar Medical Journal. 2016;13(1):14-9
  8. Hussein NR, Musa DH, Hawezy D, Ahmed F, Khalid FK, Naqid IA, Assafi M. A study on the prevalence and the risk factors of Hepatitis B Virus infection in Kurdistan Region, Iraq: a multicenter study. Journal of Contemporary Medical Sciences. 2021;7(5):282-5
  9. Abdulqadir MO, Hussain AH, Ezzaddin SA, Hasan AM. Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Biochemical & Cellular Archives. 2023;23(2).Doi.org/10.51470/bca.2023.23.2.955
  10. Organization WH. Hepatitis B vaccines: WHO position paper, July 2017–Recommendations. Vaccine. 2019;37(2):223-5.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.07.046.
  11. Yuan Q, Wang F, Zheng H, Zhang G, Miao N, Sun X, et al. Hepatitis B vaccination coverage among health care workers in China. PloS one. 2019;14(5):e0216598.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216598.
  12. Lewis JD, Enfield KB, Sifri CD. Hepatitis B in healthcare workers: Transmission events and guidance for management. World journal of hepatology. 2015;7(3):488.DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i3.488.
  13. Tatsilong HOP, Noubiap JJN, Nansseu JRN, Aminde LN, Bigna JJR, Ndze VN, Moyou RS. Hepatitis B infection awareness, vaccine perceptions and uptake, and serological profile of a group of health care workers in Yaoundé, Cameroon. BMC public health. 2016;16:1-7.DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-3388-z.
  14. Rachiotis G, Goritsas C, Alikakou V, Ferti A, Roumeliotou A. Vaccination against hepatitis B virus in workers of a general hospital in Athens. La Medicina del lavoro. 2005;96(1):80-6
  15. Chang M-H, Chen D-S. Prevention of hepatitis B. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. 2015;5(3):a021493.Doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a021493.
  16. West DJ. The risk of hepatitis B infection among health professionals in the United States: a review. The American journal of the medical sciences. 1984;287(2):26-33.Doi.org/10.1097/00000441-198403000-00006.
  17. Abiola A, Omoyeni O, Akodu B. Knowledge, attitude and practice of hepatitis B vaccination among health workers at the Lagos State accident and emergency centre, Toll-Gate, Alausa, Lagos State. West Afr J Med. 2013;32(4):257-62
  18. Atshan FH, Yahya Fawzi DIFH, Abudlrazak B. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare providers regarding the Hepatitis B infection and vaccine at Al-Salama Hospital-Ameria, Baghdad City, October-November 2022, cross-sectional study.Doi.org/10.33545/comed.2023.v6.i1a.254.
  19. Abdnur Abdela AA, Berhanu Woldu BW, Kassahun Haile KH, Biniam Mathewos BM, Tekalign Deressa TD. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices toward prevention of hepatitis B virus infection among students of medicine and health sciences in Northwest Ethiopia. 2016.DOI 10.1186/s13104-016-2216-y
  20. Roien R, Mousavi SH, Ozaki A, Baqeri SA, Hosseini SMR, Ahmad S, Shrestha S. Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice of health-care workers towards hepatitis B virus prevention in Kabul, Afghanistan. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 2021:3177-86.Doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S334438.
  21. Ssekamatte T, Isunju JB, Zirimala PAK, Etajak S, Kamukama S, Seviiri M, et al. A positive attitude among primary healthcare providers predicts better hepatitis B prevention practices: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in Wakiso district, Central Uganda. Health psychology and behavioral medicine. 2021;9(1):298-314.DOI: 10.1080/21642850.2021.1904935.
  22. Hang Pham TT, Le TX, Nguyen DT, Luu CM, Truong BD, Tran PD, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and medical practice regarding hepatitis B prevention and management among healthcare workers in Northern Vietnam. PloS one. 2019;14(10):e0223733.Doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0223733.
  23. Elfaitouri A, Elshebani AB, Omar RG. Health Worker’s Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Hepatitis B Infection at Benghazi Medical Center. Health. 2023;29(3):124-31.DOI: 10.4274/vhd.galenos.2023.2023-5-1.
  24. Rahman S, Das SK, Farhana Z, Bakkar Siddik MA, Roy AK, Dey P, et al. Assessment of knowledge, Attitudes and Practices regarding Hepatitis B virus among Nurses in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study. medRxiv. 2024:2024.05. 12.24307258. Doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.12.24307258.
  25. Vieira LDCDC, Augusto O, Mabunda N. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding hepatitis B virus among healthcare workers in Beira City, Mozambique. medRxiv. 2025:2025.05. 20.25327983.Doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.20.25327983.
  26. Akazong E, Tume C, Njouom R, Ayong L, Fondoh V, Kuiate J-R. Knowledge, attitude and prevalence of hepatitis B virus among healthcare workers: a cross-sectional, hospital-based study in Bamenda Health District, NWR, Cameroon. BMJ open. 2020;10(3):e031075. Doi:10.1136/
  27. bmjopen-2019-031075
  28. Bhattarai S. Knowledge, attitude and practice of hepatitis b vaccination among health care workers at Manipal Teaching Hospital. Kathmandu University Medical Journal. 2020;18(4):361-6
  29. Mursy SM-eM, Mohamed SOO. Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards Hepatitis B infection among nurses and midwives in two maternity hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan. BMC public health. 2019;19:1-7.Doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7982-8.
  30. Freeman BM, Chea S, Shobayo BI. Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards hepatitis B virus among healthcare workers: a cross-sectional, hospital-based study in Montserrado County, Liberia. Pan African Medical Journal. 2023;46(1).DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2023.46.77.27949.
  31. Moussa AA, Abdi AA, Abdullahi SA. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare workers towards Hepatitis B virus infection in Mogadishu, Somalia: A Cross-Sectional Study. 2020.Doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.23628/v1.
  32. Sok S, Chhoung C, Sun B, Ko K, Sugiyama A, Akita T, et al. Knowledge of hepatitis B infection, hepatitis B vaccine, and vaccination status with its associated factors among healthcare workers in Kampot and Kep Provinces, Cambodia. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2024;24(1):658.Doi.org/10.1186/s12879-024-09571-y.

Authors

Hassan Salih Ahmed

Department of Clinical Science, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Bushra Mohammed Ali

Department of Clinical Science, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Identifiers

https://doi.org/10.33899/acmm.v47i2.60190
Download this PDF file
PDF

Statistics

How to Cite

1.
Ahmed HS, Ali BM. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Staff Towards Hepatitis B Prevention in Raparin Independent Administrative Area. Ann. coll. Med. Mosul [Internet]. 2025 Dec. 29 [cited 2026 Jan. 2];47(2):174-8. Available from: https://mmed.uomosul.edu.iq/index.php/mmed/article/view/60190