KNOWLEDGE OF HEPATITIS B AND VACCINATION STATUS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE NORTH GONJA DISTRICT OF THE SAVANNAH REGION

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes liver inflammation leading to Hepatitis B diseases such as liver cirrhosis and liver malignancy which can be a life-threatening disease to the infected person. Very severe cases of hepatitis B virus may lead to the death of a person, making it a public health concern. Majority of pregnant women are ignorant about Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection status. The main objective of this study is to determine the level of knowledge, vaccination status and factors associated with hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in North Gonja District. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study with a mixed-method approach. A total of 336 participants were selected for the study and administered with a closed-ended questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion and In-depth interviews. Participants were employed using the multi-stage sampling and the purposive sampling method respectively. Data were analyzed using strata and thematic content analysis (TCA) for qualitative data and SPSS version 25 for the quantitative data. The study revealed that. Almost all (91.9%) have visited ANC, Over 60% have heard about HBV before. Overall, 61% of the women had good knowledge of the hepatitis B virus. The study further revealed that about 42% of the women were said to be at high risk of contracting HBV. Also, only 32% of women have taken the hepatitis B virus vaccination. Furthermore, about 39% adhere to the preventive measures of the HBV. Though the study participants demonstrated appreciable knowledge of HBV, their risk profile was still high, adherence to preventive protocol very low, and very low vaccination coverage among the pregnant women. It was observed from the study that, most of the health facilities do not have the test strips to screen for hepatitis B virus. Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Scheme should make testing and vaccination of pregnant women visiting antenatal carefree by supplying test kits and vaccines to lower health facilities.