| dc.description.abstract | Background
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) disease is a leading course of mortality and morbidity globally, it’s a life-threatening endemic viral infection spread through contact with blood or other body fluids of infected persons. In developing countries including Uganda, HBV burden has steadily increased despite efforts on mitigating it. Early Vaccination is therefore essential among the sexually active age groups to mitigate adverse outcomes later.
Study Objective
To determine the proportion of youths who have been vaccinated against Hepatitis B and to assess the knowledge and attitudes associated with Hepatitis B vaccination among youths so as to design strategies that can improve the youth’s uptake of Hepatitis B services.
Methods
A cross-sectional study design using quantitative data was used. Structured questionnaires were addressed to 117 youths aged 15 to 30 years to collect data on Hepatitis B vaccination status, their knowledge, and perceptions. Analysis was performed using Stata 14 statistical software.
Results
A total of 117 participated in the study. Most respondents 82 (70.1%) had heard about Hepatitis B. Among those that indicated knowing Hepatitis B, only 13 (11.1%) said they knew the disease was curable, and 57 (48.7%) knew that it was a viral infection. Most respondents (81%) had a positive attitude towards Hepatitis B vaccination. Only 35.0% of the respondents had been vaccinated from Hepatitis B of which 88% were vaccinated following prompts by their parents.
Conclusions
This study indicates that a small proportion of the youths have received Hepatitis B vaccination and the limited knowledge on Hepatitis B may play a huge role in determining the attitude and as well as uptake to Hepatitis B vaccination. The important role that should be carried on is increasing the knowledge base of the youths on Hepatitis B and increase the vaccination outlets. | en_US |
