title: Poor uptake of hepatitis B immunization amongst hospital-based health care staff.
abstract: The uptake of hepatitis B vaccine was assessed amongst 100 medical and 100 nursing staff in a teaching hospital with a policy of recommending to those at risk that they should seek immunization from their general practitioners. Sixteen per cent of nurses and 31% of doctors had completed a course of immunization with confirmation of seroconversion. An additional 9% and 18% respectively had been immunized without post-immunization serology. Ninety three per cent of nurses and 61% of doctors who had not been immunized would like to receive the vaccine. The commonest reasons for non-immunization amongst nurses were fear of vaccine and lack of advice, and amongst doctors, apathy and difficulty in obtaining the vaccine. Eighty seven per cent of medical staff and 57% of nurses had a history of needle stick injury. The low rates of vaccine uptake in this study combined with the high incidence of needle stick injury calls for a reappraisal of present hepatitis B vaccination programmes in hospitals. In particular the abrogation of responsibility for immunization to general practitioners is probably a major disincentive to potential vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University Hospital of South Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Burden
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Whorwell
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines