PMID- 34642198
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20211103
LR  - 20211103
IS  - 2044-6055 (Electronic)
IS  - 2044-6055 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 10
DP  - 2021 Oct 12
TI  - Unmet needs in occupational health: prevention and management of viral hepatitis 
      in healthcare workers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a mixed-methods study.
PG  - e052668
LID - 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052668 [doi]
LID - e052668
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Vietnam is an endemic area for hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C 
      virus infection (HBV-HCV), yet its largest city, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), has no 
      comprehensive policy to educate, screen, treat and protect healthcare workers 
      (HCWs) from viral hepatitis. We conducted a mixed-methods study to document 
      HBV-HCV infection rates, risk factors, local barriers and opportunities for 
      providing education, screening and medical care for HCWs. DESIGN: This 
      mixed-methods study involved an HBV and HCV serological evaluation, knowledge, 
      attitude and practice survey about viral hepatitis and many in-depth interviews. 
      Descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis using inductive and 
      deductive approaches were used. SETTING: HCMC, Vietnam. PARTICIPANTS: HCWs at 
      risk of viral hepatitis exposure at three hospitals in HCMC. RESULTS: Of the 210 
      invited HCWs, 203 were enrolled. Of the 203 HCWs enrolled, 20 were hepatitis B 
      surface antigen-positive, 1 was anti-hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV Ab)-positive, 
      57 were anti-hepatitis B core Ab-positive and 152 had adequate anti-hepatitis B 
      surface Ab (anti-HBs Ab) titre (>/=10IU/mL). Only 50% of the infected HCWs reported 
      always using gloves during a clinical activity involving handling of blood or 
      bodily fluid. Approximately 50% of HCWs were still not vaccinated against HBV 
      following 1 year of employment. In-depth interviews revealed two major concerns 
      for most interviewees: the need for financial support for HBV-HCV screening and 
      treatment in HCWs and the need for specific HBV-HCV guidelines to be 
      independently developed. CONCLUSIONS: The high HBV infection rate in HCWs coupled 
      with inadequate preventive occupational practices among the population in HCMC 
      highlight the urgent needs to establish formal policy and rigorous education, 
      screening, vaccination and treatment programmes to protect HCWs from HBV 
      acquisition or to manage those living with chronic HBV in Vietnam.
CI  - (c) Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No 
      commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
FAU - Nguyen, Tran
AU  - Nguyen T
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2611-317X
AD  - Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical 
      Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
FAU - Pham, Trang
AU  - Pham T
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
AD  - University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
FAU - Tang, Hong K
AU  - Tang HK
AD  - Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Pham Ngoc Thach University 
      of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
FAU - Phan, Loc
AU  - Phan L
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Mize, Gary
AU  - Mize G
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Lee, William M
AU  - Lee WM
AD  - Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical 
      Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Gish, Robert
AU  - Gish R
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Trang, Amy
AU  - Trang A
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Le, Anh
AU  - Le A
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA.
FAU - Phan, Hai T
AU  - Phan HT
AD  - Medic Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh CIty, Vietnam.
FAU - Nguyen, Binh T
AU  - Nguyen BT
AD  - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
FAU - Dao, Doan Y
AU  - Dao DY
AD  - Vietnam Viral Hepatitis Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA ddoa1@jhmi.edu.
AD  - Center of Excellence for Liver Disease in Vietnam, Johns Hopkins University 
      School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20211012
PL  - England
TA  - BMJ Open
JT  - BMJ open
JID - 101552874
RN  - 0 (Hepatitis B Surface Antigens)
SB  - IM
MH  - Health Personnel
MH  - *Hepatitis B/prevention & control
MH  - Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
MH  - *Hepatitis, Viral, Human/prevention & control
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Occupational Health
MH  - Vietnam
PMC - PMC8513255
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - health policy
OT  - public health
OT  - qualitative research
COIS- Competing interests: None declared.
EDAT- 2021/10/14 06:00
MHDA- 2021/11/04 06:00
PMCR- 2021/10/12
CRDT- 2021/10/13 06:20
PHST- 2021/10/13 06:20 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/10/14 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/11/04 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/10/12 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - bmjopen-2021-052668 [pii]
AID - 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052668 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - BMJ Open. 2021 Oct 12;11(10):e052668. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052668.