Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Public Health, Cavendish University, Kampala, Uganda.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Islamic University in Uganda, Kampala Campus, Kampala, Uganda.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 1;22(1):2243. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14723-3.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is considered a significant global public health challenge with infectivity as well as estimated potential for transmission more than 50 to 100 times that of HIV. Over time, numerous empirical studies have shown that majority of HBV-related yearly global deaths are secondary to carcinoma of the liver. It is also known that HBV infected Women have the potential to transmit the infection vertically to their infants during pregnancy. This accounts for the WHO reported 3.16% prevalence among children less than 5 years of age in Uganda. This study assessed the predictors of HBV infection prevention practices among eligible consenting pregnant women using Lubaga health facility for antenatal care (ANC).
A cross-sectional descriptive study employing quantitative data collection based on the constructs of IMB model was used to capture data on the study variables among 385 randomly selected eligible pregnant women attending antenatal care at Lubaga hospital between September 2020 and October 2020. Data derived from the quantitative instrument was analysed by data reduction and transformation to summaries of descriptive statistics using (SPSS version 26) and regression analysis was performed to establish characteristics of the association between the variables with significance level set as (p < 0.05). Chi-square goodness-of-fit test was employed for significant differences in the proportion of dichotomous responses.
The findings showed that more than half of the respondents (59%) were between the ages of 18 and 28 and majority of them (42.3%) had secondary education. Furthermore, an average but inadequate knowledge ([Formula: see text] 5.97 ± 6.61; B = 0.57; p < .001), positive perception ([Formula: see text] 17.10 ± 18.31; B = 0.97; p = .014) and good behavioural skills ([Formula: see text] 12.39 ± 13.37; B = 0.56; p < .001) for adopting prevention practices all statistically predicted the averagely acceptable level of prevention practices ([Formula: see text] 15.03 ± 16.20) among the study respondents as measured on rating scales of 12, 33, 21 and 30 respectively.
There were observed gaps in their knowledge about some basic features of the infection like transmission and risk factors as well as some misperceptions about vaccination despite the relatively average score level for both, which is likely to influence their prevention behaviours and predispose them to the risk of the infection if actions are not taken. Therefore, personalized health education is needed during antenatal visits and subsequent health campaign in order to inform better prevention practices among this vulnerable population group.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染被认为是一个重大的全球公共卫生挑战，其传染性以及估计的传播潜力是 HIV 的 50 到 100 多倍。随着时间的推移，大量的实证研究表明，大多数与乙型肝炎相关的全球年死亡人数是由于肝癌。此外，据世界卫生组织报告，乌干达 5 岁以下儿童中乙型肝炎的患病率为 3.16%。本研究评估了在卢巴加卫生设施接受产前保健（ANC）的合格同意孕妇中，HBV 感染预防措施的预测因素。
采用横断面描述性研究，采用基于 IMB 模型结构的定量数据收集方法，于 2020 年 9 月至 2020 年 10 月期间在卢巴加医院接受产前护理的 385 名随机选择的合格孕妇中收集研究变量的数据。从定量仪器中获得的数据通过数据减少和转换为描述性统计摘要（使用 SPSS 版本 26）进行分析，并进行回归分析以确定变量之间的关联特征，显著性水平设置为（p<0.05）。卡方拟合优度检验用于二分类反应比例的显著差异。
研究结果表明，超过一半的受访者（59%）年龄在 18 至 28 岁之间，其中大多数（42.3%）具有中学教育水平。此外，平均但不足的知识（[公式：见正文]5.97±6.61；B=0.57；p<0.001）、积极的认知（[公式：见正文]17.10±18.31；B=0.97；p=0.014）和良好的行为技能（[公式：见正文]12.39±13.37；B=0.56；p<0.001）用于采用预防措施，所有这些都在统计学上预测了研究参与者的平均可接受水平的预防措施（[公式：见正文]15.03±16.20），如分别在 12、33、21 和 30 的评分量表上测量的那样。
尽管对疫苗接种的知识水平相对平均，但他们对感染的一些基本特征（如传播和危险因素）的了解存在差距，并且对疫苗接种存在一些误解，这可能会影响他们的预防行为，并使他们面临感染的风险，如果不采取行动。因此，需要在产前检查期间和随后的健康运动中提供个性化的健康教育，以便在这一脆弱人群中更好地实施预防措施。
