Awareness, knowledge, acceptance, and uptake of hepatitis B vaccines among healthcare workers in Nigeria: a scoping review

Hepatitis B vaccines have been licensed for public use since the 20th century; however, many health workers in Nigeria are yet to recognise the importance of this notable scientific discovery. This scoping review aimed to assess the awareness, knowledge, acceptance, and uptake of hepatitis B vaccines among healthcare workers in Nigeria. The scoping review was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Relevant peer-reviewed studies published from January 2021 to September 2025 were searched from five public databases using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, keywords, truncations and Boolean operators. The Population, Concept, Context (PCC) framework was used to design the inclusion criteria. Relevant data were extracted from each paper, and thematic analysis was done to summarise the findings. Twenty-two studies with a total sample size of 5,537 and all cross-sectional designs were included in the review. The studies were mainly from Southern Nigeria. The awareness of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines among healthcare workers (HCWs) was described in nine studies and it ranged from 50.7% in Abuja to 100% in Kaduna State. The uptake of at least one dose of the vaccine was an outcome in sixteen studies and it ranged from 19.9% in Anambra State to 80% in Sokoto State. There was insufficient evidence on the knowledge and acceptance of HBV vaccines among HCWs in Nigeria, as only two studies reported on each theme. In conclusion, many healthcare workers in Nigeria were aware of effective vaccines for HBV, however, the uptake of these vaccines remained unsatisfactory in some regions.