BACKGROUND Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is highly endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa with 70 to 90% of the population becoming infected before the age of 40 years. Healthcare workers (HCWs) including healthcare students (HCSs) are at an increased risk of contracting HBV due to occupational exposure. HCSs are especially at a high risk because of their inexperience with infection control procedures and insufficient knowledge about the level of risk when dealing with patients. Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, and its recommendation by Kenya's Ministry of Health, few HCW and students are vaccinated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of awareness, attitude, practices, and access factors on hepatitis B vaccination uptake by HCSs at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). METHODS This was a concurrent mixed methods study. For the quantitative arm, a structured questionnaire was used to assess the awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices towards HBV disease and vaccination. Accessibility of the HBV vaccine in the participating campuses was also assessed. Two FGDs were carried out: one comprised of student representatives of the participating campuses while the second comprised of members of staff. Quantitative data was analysed using STATA (version 15) while NVIVO (version 11) was used for qualitative data. RESULTS Out of 634 students invited to participate in the study, 487 participated (response rate 76.8%). Majority of the respondents were from Nairobi Campus (44.2%) and from the Department of Nursing (31.2%). HBV vaccine uptake rate was 85.8% while the non-vaccination rate was 14.3%. Full vaccination was reported by only 20.2% of respondents. The major reason for not receiving the recommended doses was the unavailability of the vaccine when students went for it. The qualitative study revealed challenges in the implementation of the vaccination program at KMTC. CONCLUSIONS Full vaccination rates remained low despite good knowledge of HBV infection and positive attitude towards vaccination. There is therefore need to streamline vaccination programs in medical colleges to ensure availability and accessibility of the vaccine to healthcare students.

中文翻译：

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肯尼亚医学培训学院中影响HBV疫苗接种的因素：混合方法研究。

背景技术乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）在撒哈拉以南非洲是高度流行的疾病，有70至90％的人口在40岁之前受到感染。由于职业暴露，包括医科学生（HCS）在内的医护人员（HCW）感染HBV的风险增加。HCS尤其容易感染，因为他们对感染控制程序缺乏经验，并且在与患者打交道时对风险水平的了解不足。尽管有一种有效的疫苗，并且得到肯尼亚卫生部的推荐，但很少有医护人员和学生接受疫苗接种。这项研究的目的是评估肯尼亚医学培训学院（KMTC）的认知，态度，行为和获取因素对HCS接受乙肝疫苗接种的影响。方法这是一项同时进行的混合方法研究。对于定量部门，使用了结构化的问卷来评估对HBV疾病和疫苗接种的认识，知识，态度和做法。还评估了参与校园的HBV疫苗的可及性。开展了两次FGD：一个由参与校园的学生代表组成，第二个由教职员工组成。使用STATA（15版）分析定量数据，而使用NVIVO（11版）进行定性数据分析。结果在634名被邀请参加研究的学生中，有487名参加了调查（回复率为76.8％）。大部分受访者来自内罗毕校园（44.2％）和护理系（31.2％）。HBV疫苗摄取率为85.8％，而非疫苗接种率为14.3％。仅有20.2％的受访者报告了完全疫苗接种。不接受推荐剂量的主要原因是学生购买疫苗时无法获得该疫苗。定性研究揭示了在KMTC实施疫苗接种计划方面的挑战。结论尽管对HBV感染有充分的了解并且对疫苗接种持积极态度，但完全疫苗接种率仍然很低。因此，有必要简化医学院的疫苗接种计划，以确保医疗保健学生可以使用和获得疫苗。