Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices for Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Primary Healthcare Physicians in Georgia
ABSTRACT A nationwide serosurvey among adults in 2021 showed a 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.3%–3.4%) prevalence of hepatitis B. Our analysis evaluates knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among primary healthcare physicians (PHPs) in Georgia. We ran...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Journal of viral hepatitis Vol. 31; no. 12; pp. 880 - 889 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
England
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
01-12-2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | ABSTRACT
A nationwide serosurvey among adults in 2021 showed a 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.3%–3.4%) prevalence of hepatitis B. Our analysis evaluates knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among primary healthcare physicians (PHPs) in Georgia. We randomly selected 550 PHPs from medical facilities in Georgia's six largest cities. Using bivariate ordinal regression, we assessed the association of socio‐demographic factors with an ordinal knowledge score (low/middle/high). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% CI to determine associations between HBV knowledge score and practices. Of 550 selected PHPs, 506 (92.0%) agreed to participate. Among them, 62.8% scored in the medium or high knowledge tertiles, 72.7% were confident in diagnosing HBV infection, 37.3% were confident in managing patients with hepatitis B; 47.4% reported being screened for and 26.2% reported being vaccinated against HBV infection. Compared to those with low knowledge scores, PHPs with a high score were less likely to recommend activities not supported by evidence, such as: the use of ‘hepatoprotective’ medications (aOR 0.43, 95% CI 0.25–0.73), caesarean sections (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.27–0.82) and withholding breastfeeding (aOR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34–0.96) to prevent HBV transmission. The majority of PHPs were confident in diagnosing HBV infection, but only one in three were confident in managing patients with hepatitis B. PHPs with higher HBV knowledge were less likely to provide inaccurate instructions to their patients. These findings will help to develop awareness and education campaigns supporting HBV elimination in Georgia. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Funding This work was supported by Cooperative agreement between Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Immunization Division and Integral Global Health (GH21‐2102). ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1352-0504 1365-2893 1365-2893 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jvh.14011 |