Table 4. Knowledge and attitudes towards HBV infection and vaccination among mothers on Kwajalein Atoll, 2016–2017 (n = 360).
| Question topic | Proportion of “yes” answers % (95% CI) |
|---|---|
| Knowledge items: | |
| HBV infection | 84.2 (80.0–87.8) |
| Complications such as liver cancer | 44.2 (39.0–49.5) |
| Transmission through blood transfusion | 50.3 (45.0–55.6) |
| Transmission through unprotected sexual intercourse | 50.3 (45.0–55.6) |
| Mother-to-child transmission | 60.8 (55.6–65.9) |
| Prevention of transmission through timely HBV vaccine birth dose | 51.7 (46.4–56.9) |
| Asymptomatic nature of HBV infection | 53.1 (47.8–58.3) |
| Ability to cause jaundice | 73.3 (68.4–77.8) |
| Long-term complications for children infected perinatally | 46.4 (41.1–51.7) |
| Availability of treatment for HBV infection |
38.3 (33.3–43.6) |
| Total with: | |
| Good knowledge (knowledge score ≥ 6) |
53.1 (47.8–58.3) |
| Poor knowledge (knowledge score < 6) |
46.9 (41.7–52.2) |
| Mean score | 5.5 (SD = 3.3) |
| Attitude items (positive attitude): | |
| Vaccination | 95.8 (93.2–97.6) |
| Recommending vaccination to others | 96.1 (93.6–97.9) |
| Being screened during pregnancy (antenatal visit) | 96.7 (94.2–98.2) |
| Allowing child to be vaccinated | 97.5 (95.3–98.9) |
| Allowing child to receive immunoglobulin treatment | 96.3 (93.9–98.1) |
| Allowing child to be screened for HBV infection postnatally (first 12 months) | 96.7 (94.2–98.3) |
| Total with: | |
| Positive attitude (attitude score ≥ 4) | 96.9 (94.6–98.5) |
| Negative attitude (attitude score < 4) | 0.03 (0.02–0.05) |
| Mean score | 5.9 (SD = 0.94) |
CI: confidence interval; HBV: hepatitis B virus; SD: standard deviation.