TITLE:
Impact of Behaviour Change Communication on Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccination among Health Workers in Fako Division, Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Serge Ngekeng, Alain Chichom-Mefire, Nicholas Tendongfor, Esembeson Malika, Margaret Ebob-Bessem, Simeon Pierre Choukem
KEYWORDS:
Hepatitis B, Vaccination, Behaviour Change Communication, Health Care Workers
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.1,
January
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: Background: Despite WHO estimates of two million healthcare workers (HCWs) who are exposed to hepatitis B virus (HBV) yearly, uptake of the hepatitis B vaccine among HCWs in Cameroon is low. Objective: Our study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a behaviour change communication (BCC) intervention in improving vaccination uptake among HCWs in Fako Division. Methods: We carried out a clustered randomized controlled trial involving HCWs in 12 study hospitals and 12 control hospitals. Baseline vaccination uptake was established for both groups and a 6month BCC intervention applied to the study group. After 6months, uptake was again measured for both groups. We performed the adjusted chi-square tests to compare between groups and within groups from baseline to end of study. Results: Greater than 1 dose vaccination uptake increased from 25.66% to 34.72%(p value, 0.02) in the control group and from 35.27% to 75.89% (p value, Conclusion: BCC is effective in increasing hepatitis B vaccination uptake among HCWs. Public health officials should utilize wide-reaching as well as more interactive channels of BCC to improve vaccination among HCWs.