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Effect of Viral Hepatitis Education on Hepatitis Prevention Practices among Healthcare Workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Viral hepatitis is an important public health and occupational health concern because healthcare workers may be exposed to hepatitis viruses through contact with infected blood and other potentially infectious body fluids. Occupational exposure may occur through needle-stick injuries, sharps injuries, unsafe injections, blood collection procedures, contact with contaminated instruments, and splashes involving blood or body fluids. Healthcare workers are therefore an important population for hepatitis prevention because their occupational practices can influence both their own risk of infection and the risk of transmission within healthcare settings. Viral hepatitis education provides healthcare workers with knowledge and practical skills relating to hepatitis transmission, occupational risk factors, vaccination, standard precautions, safe injection practices, sharps safety, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, hand hygiene, safe handling of blood and body fluids, sterilization and disinfection, testing, referral, and post-exposure procedures. Hepatitis prevention practices refer to actions undertaken by healthcare workers to reduce the risk of acquiring or transmitting viral hepatitis, including vaccination, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, safe handling and disposal of sharps, safe injection practices, hand hygiene, appropriate sterilization and disinfection, safe management of blood and body fluids, and prompt reporting and management of occupational exposures. In Nigeria, inadequate hepatitis-related occupational health education, incomplete vaccination coverage, unsafe injection practices, inadequate availability of personal protective equipment and safety devices, heavy workloads, and inconsistent implementation of infection prevention and control measures may affect hepatitis prevention practices among healthcare workers. Effective viral hepatitis education may improve healthcare workers' knowledge, risk perception, practical skills, and adherence to recommended hepatitis prevention measures. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of viral hepatitis education on hepatitis prevention practices among healthcare workers in Nigeria. The study is anchored on Social Cognitive Theory, the Health Belief Model, and Protection Motivation Theory. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, behavioural capabilities, social influences, and environmental conditions in shaping healthcare workers' preventive behaviour. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding healthcare workers' adoption of recommended hepatitis prevention practices. Protection Motivation Theory explains how perceived health threats, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and perceived response costs influence individuals' decisions to adopt protective measures against occupational infection risks. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how viral hepatitis education may influence hepatitis prevention practices among healthcare workers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from healthcare workers in selected public and private healthcare facilities in Nigeria using a structured self-administered questionnaire, viral hepatitis knowledge assessment, and an observational hepatitis prevention practices checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, healthcare facilities, departments or units, and eligible healthcare workers. Where feasible, selected healthcare facilities or healthcare worker groups will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Healthcare workers in the intervention group will receive structured viral hepatitis education covering hepatitis transmission, occupational risk factors, hepatitis B vaccination, standard precautions, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices, sharps safety, hand hygiene, safe handling of blood and body fluids, sterilization and disinfection, testing and referral, and appropriate management of occupational exposure. Hepatitis prevention practices will be assessed using indicators such as hepatitis B vaccination uptake, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices, safe handling and disposal of sharps, hand hygiene, appropriate sterilization and disinfection procedures, safe handling of blood and body fluids, and reporting and management of occupational exposures. Where feasible, direct observation and relevant facility records will complement self-reported information to improve measurement accuracy. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize healthcare workers' sociodemographic and professional characteristics, viral hepatitis knowledge, exposure to education, and hepatitis prevention practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of viral hepatitis education on hepatitis prevention practices. Where appropriate, pre-intervention and post-intervention practice scores will be compared. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instruments, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that viral hepatitis education has a significant positive effect on hepatitis prevention practices among healthcare workers in Nigeria. Healthcare workers exposed to structured viral hepatitis education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of hepatitis transmission and greater adherence to recommended prevention measures. Education may improve hepatitis B vaccination uptake, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices, sharps handling and disposal, hand hygiene, sterilization and disinfection, safe management of blood and body fluids, and reporting and management of occupational exposures. It may also improve healthcare workers' awareness of their occupational risk and the importance of timely vaccination, testing, and appropriate post-exposure management. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained prevention practices because healthcare workers may continue to face barriers such as limited access to hepatitis B vaccination, shortages of personal protective equipment and safety devices, inadequate sharps-disposal facilities, heavy workloads, staff shortages, and weak occupational health systems. Consequently, viral hepatitis education is expected to be most effective when supported by accessible vaccination programmes, adequate infection prevention supplies, functional occupational health services, regular supervision, exposure reporting systems, and strong infection prevention and control programmes. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on viral hepatitis prevention, occupational health, healthcare worker safety, infection prevention and control, health education, infectious disease prevention, vaccination, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the effect of viral hepatitis education on hepatitis prevention practices among healthcare workers. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, hospital management authorities, infection prevention and control committees, occupational health professionals, healthcare professional associations, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for reducing occupational transmission of viral hepatitis. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening viral hepatitis education, expanding hepatitis B vaccination programmes for healthcare workers, improving access to personal protective equipment and safety devices, strengthening occupational exposure reporting and management systems, enhancing compliance monitoring, and promoting effective hepatitis prevention practices in healthcare facilities across Nigeria.

Keywords: Viral hepatitis education, hepatitis prevention practices, healthcare workers, hepatitis B, occupational exposure, infection prevention and control, hepatitis vaccination, sharps safety, occupational health, healthcare safety, infectious disease prevention, health education, public health, Nigeria.