Barqawi Hiba Jawdat, Samara Kamel A, Al Ansari Maryam Mohanad, Al Moukdad Almuzaffar Mustafa, Obied Said Hkmat, Abu-Gharbieh Eman
College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 26;15(1):10412. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-95066-y.
Globally, there are 1.2 million new chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infections every year. The UAE is a low-endemic region where no previous studies have explored HBV stigma. This study aims to evaluate the UAE's population HBV knowledge, HBV vaccine attitudes, and stigmatizing attitudes towards the HBV infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate knowledge and stigma; the previously-developed and validated stigma scale (Hepatitis B Virus - Stigma Scale, HBV-SS) was used. A total of 601 responses were retained for analysis in both python-3 and R. Chi-squared, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for bivariate analyses and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used for linear modelling. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, and goodness-of-fit was evaluated. Overall, 77.5%, (n = 466/601) reported having some knowledge regarding HBV, only 19.3% (n = 90/466) had good knowledge regarding HBV, with most gaps occurring with symptoms, complications, and treatment of the infection. However, 84.03% (n = 505/601) were interested in learning more about the virus. Only 57.6% (n = 346/601) were aware of the existence of the vaccine; however, attitudes to it were overwhelmingly positive. Overall, non-stigmatising attitudes dominated; however, both labelling and separating domains highlighted specific items with highly stigmatising attitudes. CFA showed the HBV-SS model to have acceptable/good goodness-of-fit. OLS identified higher knowledge levels among healthcare workers and those with higher perceived knowledge. Only perceived knowledge was a significant predictor of lower stigma beyond the bivariate level. The UAE population has shown low levels of knowledge but overall non-stigmatising attitudes. It is imperative that campaigns focus on improving general population HBV infection and vaccine knowledge while also solidifying the widespread level of vaccine acceptance and non-stigmatising attitudes.
全球范围内，每年有120万例新发慢性乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染病例。阿联酋是一个低流行地区，此前尚无研究探讨过乙肝污名化问题。本研究旨在评估阿联酋人群对乙肝病毒的了解、对乙肝疫苗的态度以及对乙肝感染的污名化态度。我们进行了一项横断面研究来评估相关知识和污名化情况；使用了先前开发并验证的污名化量表（乙肝病毒污名化量表，HBV-SS）。在Python-3和R中，共保留了601份回复用于分析。卡方检验、曼-惠特尼U检验和克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验用于双变量分析，普通最小二乘法（OLS）回归用于线性建模。进行了验证性因子分析（CFA）并评估了拟合优度。总体而言，77.5%（n = 466/601）的人报告对乙肝病毒有一定了解，只有19.3%（n = 90/466）的人对乙肝病毒有充分了解，大部分知识差距出现在感染的症状、并发症和治疗方面。然而，84.03%（n = 505/601）的人有兴趣进一步了解该病毒。只有57.6%（n = 346/601）的人知道疫苗的存在；然而，人们对疫苗的态度总体上是积极的。总体而言，非污名化态度占主导；然而，标签化和区分领域突出了具有高度污名化态度的特定项目。CFA显示HBV-SS模型具有可接受/良好的拟合优度。OLS分析表明，医护人员以及自认为知识水平较高的人群知识水平更高。在双变量水平之外，只有自认为的知识水平是较低污名化程度的显著预测因素。阿联酋人群的知识水平较低，但总体上没有污名化态度。当务之急是开展宣传活动，重点提高普通人群对乙肝感染和疫苗的认识，同时巩固广泛的疫苗接受度和非污名化态度。
