Abstract:

Background: Hepatitis B (HB) is a viral infection that affects liver and may act as a tumor promoter. It is a global public health problem which is transmissible from one individual to another by several means including; through blood, mother to child, unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing of eating utensils and other barber shop and beauty salon equipment and shared teeth brush. In Tanzania there is a paucity of information about knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among population including pregnant women who are at higher risk to the infection

Methodology: This was a hospital based cross-sectional study which was conducted from August to December 2021, at Bugando medical Centre, A total of 110 pregnant women were selected and included in this study. Knowledge, Attitude, Practices of participants on Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) was assessed using a pretested structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 software.

RESULTS: A total of 110 pregnant women with 100% response rate from the ANC clinic were enrolled during the study with the average age ranging from 21-44. Majority of the study participates were illiterate (3.6%), (18.2%) completed some or all primary level and (78.2%) completed some secondary and above education level. majority of the pregnant women 84/110 (76.4%) had adequate knowledge of HBV infections and 26/110(23.6%) had poor knowledge. Also, 71/110 (64.5%) of them had positive attitudes and 39/110(36%) of them had negative attitudes whereas 99/110 (90%) had good practices towards HBV infections and 11/110(10%) had poor practices.

Conclusion: Knowledge and practice about HBV among pregnant women was found to be good, and their attitude were also limited, and majority of them have not screened HBV. Therefore, extensive health education program should be given to the pregnant women to increase their awareness towards HBV infection. All pregnant women should be screened for HBV as part of ANC follow-up.