Hepatitis B Vaccination in High-Risk Public Safety Workers in Kaduna, Nigeria

Objectives: To estimate hepatitis B vaccination (HBVc) coverage, and knowledge and socio-demographic determinants of full-dose uptake in Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) members, Kaduna State, Nigeria in order to inform relevant targeted vaccination policies. Design: A cross-sectional survey of FRSC members, Kaduna Sector Command. Settings: Six randomly-selected Unit Commands under Kaduna Sector Command, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Participants: Pilot-tested structured self-administered questionnaire was administered to 341 participants aged 18 years and above with ≥6 months of service between 17th June and 22nd July, 2015. Excluded were FRSC members in Road Safety (RS) 1 Zonal Command headquarters as the Zonal Command includes other States beyond the study scope. Primary Outcome: HBVc status of participants categorized as ‘not vaccinated’ for uptake of <3 doses and ‘vaccinated’ for uptake of ≥3 doses. Analysis: Descriptive analysis estimated HBVc coverage while logistic regression ascertained associations. Results: Most participants were males, aged 30-39 years, with 3-10 years of service, and of Marshal cadre. HBVc coverage was 60.9% for ≥1 dose and 30.5% for ≥3 doses. Less than 47% of participants scored above the mean knowledge score for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HBVc. Female sex (AOR 2.28, 95% CI 1.15-4.52, p<0.05), perceiving there to be an occupational risk of exposure to HBV (AOR 2.86, 95% CI 1.06-7.70, p<0.001), and increasing HBVc knowledge (AOR 2.68, 95% CI 1.83-3.92, p<0.001) were independent predictors of full-dose HBVc in FRSC members, Kaduna Sector Command. Conclusions: HBVc coverage and knowledge are poor among FRSC members, Kaduna Sector Command. Educational intervention, geared towards improving FRSC members’ knowledge of HBVc and perception of risk of occupational exposure to HBV, is recommended for these vulnerable public safety workers. Such enlightenment could be a cheap and easy way of improving HBVc coverage in the study population.