Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a major public health concern, particularly among medical students who are at high risk due to clinical training, exposure to blood and the absence of mandatory screening programs, vaccination helps to reduce morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to elucidate HBV awareness and vaccination adherence among medical students in Western Saudi Arabia. Methods: From October 2023 to January 2024, a cross-sectional survey was. carried out in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. An online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a randomized sample of 376 undergraduate medical students across six governmental universities. Results: HBV vaccination adherence among medical students showed a significant association with their university (p<0.001). More than half were immunised, either through hepatitis B vaccination (43.6%) or due to a previous infection (10.9%). The most common reasons for non-vaccination were busy schedules 96 (25.5%) and forgetting to get vaccinated 86 (22.9%). Additionally, 60 (16%) of students expressed concerns about side effects or believed the vaccine was ineffective 52 (13.8%). Furthermore, 90 (28.8%) of students were unaware of or unable to access vaccination sites and 14 (3.7%) cited other reasons. Conclusion: More than half of the medical students had either been vaccinated against HBV or had acquired immunity from prior infections. However, knowledge of HBV was moderate, about 61% recognize that HBV is more contagious than HIV, while poor vaccination adherence persisted due to misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge. To improve vaccination adherence, evidence-based educational programs should be implemented, followed by effective immunization strategies and pre-clinical vaccine screening.
Alsharif et al. (Fri,) studied this question.