STATUS OF HEPATITIS B VACCINATION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS UNDERGOING CLINICAL ROUNDS IN PESHAWAR, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Authors

  • Muhammad Hassan Shah Final professional MBBS student, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar
  • Adnan Khan Final professional MBBS student, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar
  • Zia Ur Rehman Fourth professional MBBS student, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar
  • Zahid Fazal Khan Final professional MBBS student, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar

Keywords:

hepatitis b virus, hepatitis b vaccination, medical students, immunization

Abstract

Introduction: Two billion people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 360 million with chronic hepatitis, out of which 600 thousand die every year. Since medical students are at increased risk of contracting the disease due to their greater exposure to the disease high degree of risk of developing the diseases due to exposure to it during clinical rounds.

Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on medical students undergoing clinical rotations in the hospital. The medical students attending the hospital postings, mainly 4th and 5th year, were invited to complete a 17- item questionnaire.

Results: A total number of 500 medical students were approached for the study but only 459 of them responded, of which 44.7% were males and 55.3% were females. The maximum age was 25 years and minimum age 20 years, with a mean age of 22.5±1.08 years. Regarding awareness of HBV vaccination, 46.7% students were well aware, 40.6% were moderately aware while 12.7% were less aware. For vaccination status, 67.5% of the students were vaccinated against hepatitis B while 24.4% were not vaccinated, whereas 8.1% did not know whether they were vaccinated or not. Of the 67.5% vaccinated, 59.35% had completed all three doses while 36.7% were partially vaccinated with two or less than two doses while 3.87% did not know if they were partially vaccinated or fully vaccinated. Of the students vaccinated, 18.4% were vaccinated in the past 1 year, 23.7% were vaccinated between 1-5 years ago, and 11.6% were vaccinated between 6- 10 years ago while 26.5% were vaccinated more than 10 years ago.

Conclusion: A large number of students were not vaccinated despite the high awareness levels of the students and the availability of a cheap and easily accessible hepatitis B vaccine.

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Published

2022-12-13