Article
作者: Shuaib, Faisal ; Sandhu, Hardeep S. ; Mohammed, Yahaya ; Ismail, Binta Aduke ; Michael, Charles A. ; Bolu, Omotayo O. ; Okposen, Bassey Bassey ; Adewole, Adefisoye ; Isa, Abdullahi ; Asekun, Adeyelu ; Ugwu, George O. ; Waziri, Ndadilnasiya E. ; Okeke, Lilian Akudo ; Fadahunsi, Rhoda ; Minta, Anna ; Obi, Emmanuel I. ; Ugbenyo, Gideon ; Bahuli, Abubakar U. ; Simple, Edwin ; Nwokoro, Ugochukwu Uzoechina ; Bashir, Sulaiman Saidu ; Ikwe, Hadley ; Uba, Belinda V. ; Vasumu, James J. ; Kanu, Florence ; Wisdom, Margeret Osas ; Tohme, Rania A. ; Freeland, Catherine
Background::Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and neonatal tetanus infections remain endemic in Nigeria despite the availability of safe, effective vaccines. We aimed to determine health facilities’ capacity for hepatitis B vaccine birth dose (HepB-BD) and maternal tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccination and to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HepB-BD and maternal Td vaccine administration among health facility staff in Nigeria.
Materials and Methods::This was a cross-sectional study assessing public primary and secondary health facilities in Adamawa and Enugu States. A multistage sampling approach was used to select 40 facilities and 79 health-care workers (HCWs) from each state. A structured facility assessment tool and standardized questionnaire evaluated facility characteristics and HCW knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to HepB-BD and maternal Td vaccination. Frequencies and proportions were reported as descriptive statistics.
Results::The survey of 80 facilities revealed that 73.8% implemented HepB-BD and maternal Td vaccination policies. HepB-BD was administered within 24 h of birth at 61.3% of facilities and at all times at 57.5%. However, administration seldom occurred in labor and delivery (35%) or maternity wards (16.3%). Nearly half of the facilities (46.3%) had HCWs believing there were contraindications to HepB-BD vaccination. Among 158 HCWs, 26.5% believed tetanus could be transmitted through unprotected sex, prevented by vaccination at birth (46.1%), or by avoiding sharing food and utensils. 65% of HCWs knew HBV infection had the worst outcome for newborns.
Conclusions::The limited implementation of national policies on HepB-BD and maternal Td vaccination, coupled with knowledge gaps among HCWs, pose significant challenges to timely vaccination, necessitating interventions to address these gaps.