AWARENESS, ATTITUDES AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HEPATITIS B VACCINATION AMONG ADOLESCENT IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOL LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT Hepatitis B is a viral infection that targets the liver and can result in both acute and chronic liver disease; hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver. This study was conducted to assess the awareness, attitudes and factors associated with hepatitis B vaccination among adolescents in selected secondary schools in Lagos. The Health Belief Model was ideally suited as the theoretical framework for this study because it comprehensively accounts for the understanding of health behavior and suggest that six key factors influence health behavior: perceived susceptibility to risk, perceived severity of risk, perceived benefits of taking action, perceived barriers to taking action, self-efficacy, and cues to action. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to select 251 adolescents, using multi-stage sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. The questionnaire was reviewed using the face and content validity, whereby experts in the field of Public Health coupled with the other Lecturers and the supervisor critically look at the questionnaire to be administered to check if it will measure what it intends to measure and to suit the exact population it is meant for before embarking on this study. The instrument to use (questionnaire) was pre-tested among 25 young people in another secondary school that have a similar characteristic to ensure reliability. Data collection was analyzed for Cronbach’s alpha to measure the internal constituency of the set of items and to measure the strength of the scale’s reliability. The responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics (Frequency, table, graphical representation) using SPSS version 26.0 and association influencing the awareness and vaccination uptake was tested by chi square test. The mean was 15.3 + 1.1 years. The result showed that some of the respondents, 127 (54.5%) Christianity, 174 (74.7%) married and 89 (38.2%) Yoruba’s, about one out twenty, 13 (5.6%) respondents had good knowledge of Hepatitis B while 220 (94.4%) had poor knowledge. About half, 114 (48.9%) respondents had good knowledge of Hepatitis B vaccination while 119 (51.1%) had poor knowledge. Majority, 167 (98.3%) had good attitude towards Hepatitis B vaccination uptake while 4 (1.7) had poor attitude. More than half, 128 (54.9%) had high score for Factors influencing Awareness and uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccination. In conclusion, this study revealed a moderately good level of awareness of Hepatitis B and a moderately good level of awareness of Hepatitis B vaccination among adolescents of selected secondary students in Lagos State, Nigeria. However, there was poor knowledge of Hepatitis B, moderately good level of knowledge of Hepatitis B vaccination and good attitude towards Hepatitis B vaccination. Key words: Adolescent, Awareness, Hepatitis B, Vaccination, Inflammation Word counts: 425