157 vaccinated out of 450 HCP, rest at risk
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Apr 4: A cross-sectional study carried out by doctors in Kashmir has revealed that the Hepatitis B (Hep-B) vaccination coverage of the healthcare personnel (HCP) at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) was found to be low despite its importance for HCPs who are always at risk of getting exposed to the virus during their duties.
A total of 450 HCPs formed the study participants, which included doctors, nursing staff, laboratory staff and others while the required sample was drawn from each category, of which just 157 were vaccinated against Hepatitis B.
The study, authored by Dr Basina Gulzar and Dr Syed Najmul Ain from the Deptt of Community Medicine, GMC Baramulla, and Dr Anjum Fazili along with Dr Rohul Jabeen Shah from Deptt of Community Medicine, SKIMS, was conducted for the period of one year-from May 2020 to April 2021-titled ‘A cross-sectional study to assess the vaccination practices regarding Hepatitis B among health care personnel of a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir’ and was finally published in the beginning of 2023 in the ‘International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health’.
As per the results of the study, it came to the fore that only 34.9% were vaccinated against Hepatitis B, while the coverage was the highest, 55.5% among doctors, followed by technicians 25.6% and nurses 23.6%.
The study notes that the main reasons for not receiving the vaccine were and those were, taking all necessary precautions, which was given out as a reason by the 49.1% of the participants, the hospital does not provide the vaccine, which was said by 20.8% of the participant and lastly, not aware about Hepatitis B vaccine, which was given out as a vaccine by 20.5 % participants of the study.
Further, out of the sample size of 450 HCPs, 164 were doctors, 174 were nursing staff, 82 from Laboratory staff and 30 others were from sanitation staff and the laundry department.
“One of the most effective public health initiatives that have so far prevented millions of deaths is vaccination. Workers in the healthcare industry are more likely to acquire Hepatitis B as a result of their job-related exposure. The goals were to evaluate the Hepatitis B vaccination practices among healthcare professionals (HCP) and to research the variables influencing these HCP Hepatitis B vaccination practices,” the study noted.
The yearlong study has also revealed that Hepatitis B vaccination coverage was associated with the highest educational qualification of the healthcare personnel and the association was statistically significant.
The results put out in the research note that the highest hepatitis B vaccination coverage was seen among the healthcare personnel with MBBS/MD/ MS/DM (55.5%) followed by those with BSc/MSc nursing (28.3%), BSc/MSc/ DMLT (22.6%) and in 8th/10th/12th standard (16.1%).
Interestingly, the study has also revealed that the urban HCP had higher uptake of Hepatitis B vaccination compared to rural, noting that the reason might be the high accessibility of Hepatitis B vaccine in the private sector in urban areas than in rural areas “because the vaccine is not provided in the institute and has to be purchased by the HCP.”
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