Assessment of knowledge, Attitudes and Practices regarding Hepatitis B virus among Nurses in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide issue. Nurses are particularly at risk of occupational HBV contamination. In Bangladesh, there is little understanding of the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of nurses regaarding HBV. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the KAP of nurses regarding HBV.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 nurses through face-to-face interviews through a semi-structured questionnaire using a convenient sample technique. Different statistical tools including frequency distribution, Pearson Chi-square test, and t-tests were used in data analysis.

The average age of the participants was 34.5 years where majority of them were 31-40 years old (50.0%) and female (83%). This study revealed that 25.0% had good knowledge, 43.3% exhibited a good (positive) attitude, and 56.7% of nurses demonstrated good practices regarding HBV. Conversely, nurses exhibit a poor knowledge rate of 30.0%, a poor attitude rate of 30.8%, and a poor practice rate of 29.2% regarding HBV. The independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA demonstrated that nurses’ from rural residences had a significantly higher knowledge [0.80 (0.79-0.82) versus 0.78 (0.77-0.79)]; p=0.001] regarding HBV. Similarly, female [mean attitude score: 0.88 (0.85-0.91) versus 0.77 (0.86-0.69); p=0.009] and nurses from Muslim [0.79(0.61-0.97) versus 0.79(0.76-0.83); p=0.035] faiths has significantly higher positive attitude and good practice behaviors compared to their counterparts.

Increasing the vaccination coverage rate of all nurses, as well as implementing additional techniques for preventing exposure in the workplace, training programs on HBV infection, including PEP, comes highly recommended. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study received no specific funds from any agencies or organizations. Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The permission of this study was approved by the Institutional Animal, Medical Ethics, Biosafety and Biosecuirity Committee (IAMEBBC) of Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Rajshahi [Ref. Memo No. 12(22)/320/IAMEBBC/IBSc] I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data availability statement The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request to meshbah037{at}gmail.com.