Risk perception and knowledge of hepatitis B infection among cleaners in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Background: Hepatitis B infection is a leading pathogenic infection that constitutes occupational hazard to health care workers. The current study examines the knowledge of hepatitis B infection and hepatitis B vaccination and uptake of the vaccine among the cleaners in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study of 89 cleaners using a standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire for data collection was conducted. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 21 software. Results: Among the participants, 12 (13.5%), 12 (13.5%) and 19 (21.3%) had low, medium and high-risk perception of acquiring hepatitis B infection respectively. Awareness of hepatitis B infection was low (65.2%). The mean knowledge scores concerning hepatitis B infection (4.24 out of 26) and hepatitis B vaccine (1.06 out of 26) were low. Twenty-five (28.1%) of the participants had ever had screening while none of them reported being vaccinated against hepatitis B. Conclusions: Hospital cleaners have poor risk perception, low level of awareness and poor knowledge about hepatitis B infection. Health workers might differ in what they know about hepatitis B infection and vaccine because of the differences in the levels of education, training, and perceived relevance within hospital settings. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd on behalf of INDIACLEN.