Knowledge and Preventive Practices of Hepatitis B Transmission among Dental Students and Interns in a Tertiary Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B is one of the most common contagious diseases in Nepal and is a signifi- cant public health issue. It is transmitted through contact with contaminated blood or other bodily fluids on broken skin or mucous membranes. Junior doctors and dentists are at particular risk of hepatitis B exposure. This study aims to find the level of knowledge of transmission and prevention of hepatitis B among the dental students.
 Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among dental students and interns at Kantipur Dental College Teaching Hospital and Research Center, Kathamndu from January 2019 to February 2019 after ethical approval was provided by the Institutional Review Committee. The study included dental students and graduate intern doctors. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was done along with frequency and proportion of binary data.
 Results: Out of one hundred forty two students, 68 (48%) of participants had completed a full course of hepatitis B vaccine. Thirty seven (26%) had started but had less than three recommended shots and 37 (26%) had not received any vaccines for hepatitis B prevention. Only 14 (10%) of the study group had checked their hepatitis B titer prior to commencing medical education.
 Conclusions: There is also a lack of understanding of transmission, prevention and post exposure prophylaxis for hepatitis B infection among them among new health care providers in Nepal. This puts both the practitioners and patients at risk of chronic hepatitis B infection, which is unnecessary given cheap and easy prevention strategies, can virtually eliminate the risk.

Dental Healthcare Worker’s Knowledge and Attitude on Hepatitis B Infection and Their Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccination at a Tertiary Care Center in Nepal

“…Generally, previous studies show that the Nepalese dental students have a high knowledge which may not be different from their medical counterparts. 5,6,10 As dental students and interns formed more than 70% of our study sample, it was not surprising that our findings were in alignment with these past studies conducted among students. However, in contrast to a previous study in which 100% of the study sample reported to understand all the modes of virus transmission, 6 less than half of the participants in our study answered correctly about the possible routes of the virus transmission.…”

“…5,6,10 As dental students and interns formed more than 70% of our study sample, it was not surprising that our findings were in alignment with these past studies conducted among students. However, in contrast to a previous study in which 100% of the study sample reported to understand all the modes of virus transmission, 6 less than half of the participants in our study answered correctly about the possible routes of the virus transmission. This knowledge gap identified among the study participants should be addressed, particularly in continuing infection control education programs for the HCWs.…”

“…3,5 However, our findings are reflective of recent studies among medical/ dental colleges in Nepal and elsewhere in which hepatitis B vaccination rates have remained similarly under par. 6,10,13 Interestingly, knowledge and attitude were not associated with the vaccination of dental HCWs in our study. While traditional public health insights recommend more education and behavioral changes for HCW to improve their vaccination rates, 14,15 the real issue plaguing HCWs in a country like Nepal may be their access to hepatitis B vaccine.…”

“…5 In a previous study among dental students and interns in Kathmandu, only 39% of the participants correctly realized that HBV remains viable outside of the body for seven days. 6 This further underlines the need for emphasis on proper sterilization of dental instruments as well as periodic disinfection of dental setting.…”

“…Few studies have explored these issues among dental HCW in Nepal, but they have been limited to dental students and interns. 3,5,6 The main objective of this study was therefore, to assess the knowledge, attitude, and hepatitis B vaccination status of all dental HCWs, including dentists, specialists, and auxiliary staff in a tertiary dental hospital.…”