Health care workers and Hepatitis B prevention: Perceptions and practices in a tertiary care hospital in coastal Karnataka

Background: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a major global health problem affecting approximately 10% of the world's population. In India around 40-65% of HBV infections are seen among healthcare workers and are attributed to percutaneous occupational exposures. In the background of this context the present study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices towards transmission and prevention of Hepatitis B infection among the Health Care Workers (HCWs) in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: This was a cross sectional study wherein 361 HCWs across cadre, were randomly recruited from the hospital. Participants included consultants, junior residents, nursing personnel, laboratory technicians and housekeeping staff. Information pertaining to perceptions and practices of HCWs towards Hepatitis B infection was recorded and analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. Results: On the whole, the participants exhibited good knowledge regarding hepatitis B transmission and prevention. A small proportion (3.6%) reported misconception such as contaminated food and water as probable transmission routes. Nearly 58 (16.1%) of the participants were unvaccinated. This included mostly the housekeeping staff and a few nurses. Higher educational status and younger age were found to be significant predictors in adhering to appropriate disease prevention practices. Conclusions: There appears to be inadequate adherence to safe workplace guidelines among the housekeeping staff and certain paramedical functionaries warranting periodic training and monitoring. Establishment of a safe workplace monitoring unit within the hospital could be a step in this direction.