# Hepatitis B Vaccination History among medical intern doctors and nurses in three national referral hospitals in Uganda

## TL;DR

This study examines the Hepatitis B vaccination status of medical interns and nurses in Uganda, finding that less than 60% completed the full vaccine series.

## Contribution

The study provides new data on HBV vaccination coverage among healthcare trainees in Uganda and highlights barriers to full vaccination.

## Key findings

- 89% of medical interns had received at least one dose of the HBV vaccine.
- Only 58.43% of participants reported receiving all three recommended doses of the HBV vaccine.
- Forgetfulness and vaccine cost were the main reasons for incomplete vaccination.

## Abstract

Healthcare trainees are at high risk of acquiring the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).

We aimed to evaluate the HBV vaccination status among medical intern doctors and nurses in Uganda.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of medical interns (doctors and nurses) working in three national referral hospitals in Uganda. Self-reported vaccination status was classified into “fully vaccinated”, “partially vaccinated,” and “not vaccinated.”

A total of 186 participants were enrolled in the study. More than half of the participants were from Mulago National Referral Hospital (n=110, 59.14%), were male (n=103, 55.38%), and were medical intern doctors (n=127, 68.28%). The majority of the medical interns (n=166, 89.0%) had received at least one dose, but n=97 (58.43%) reported receiving all three recommended doses of the HBV vaccine. Forgetfulness (n=8, 30.8%) and cost of the vaccine (n=8, 30.8 %) were the main reasons some participants were unvaccinated.

The completion rate of the HBV vaccination schedule among medical interns was low. It is essential to establish systems that require medical interns to have completed their HBV vaccination before starting their medical internship.