Barriers to Effective Management of Hepatitis B Infection among Injecting Drug Users Seeking Care in Selected Treatment Centres, Mombasa County, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Ndunda, Jennifer Mueni | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-04-04T07:00:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-04-04T07:00:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-11 | |
| dc.description | A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Degree of Master of Public Health (Epidemiology and Disease Control) in the School of Health Sciences of Kenyatta University, November, 2024 Supervisors: 1.George Orinda 2.Syprine Otieno 3.Harun Kimani | |
| dc.description.abstract | The Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the cause of the communicable and vaccine-preventable liver disease known as hepatitis B. A common way to transmit the virus is through injection of drugs. Across the globe HBV is present in 7.5% of the population, and there are about 35 million addicts, of whom 12 million are injection drug users (IDUs). Around 5.6 million of IDUs have HBV with HBsAg seropositivity rate of 12.5 worldwide. Increasing access to screening and active vaccination, behavior modification and passive immuno-prophylaxis are crucial steps in achieving effective management for HBV. HBV vaccines were introduced in the early 1980s, and Kenya included it in the expanded immunization programme in 2003. Despite all these interventions set for the elimination of HBV infection as a public health threat by the year 2030, in Kenya the rate of HBV remains high, especially among IDUs. Identifying (or understanding) barriers to effective management is needed to inform on appropriate interventions for HBV infection among IDUs seeking care in selected treatment centers and was the purpose of this study. The study design utilized a cross-sectional analytical approach with a target population of 3,065 giving a sample size of 159 respondents. The study used both questionnaire and focus group discussion to collect data. The target population was stratified into strata of public and private treatments centres with the sample size proportionately distributed across the selected treatment centres. The first respondent was randomly selected, and systematic sampling was used to get the subsequent respondents until sample size was achieved. The study revealed that the prevalence of Hepatitis B is 22% (35) among IDUs with male 77.1% (27) being most affected compared to women 22.9% (8). The level of knowledge of causes, transmission, prevention, and control among injecting drug users was low 84(52.5%). The overall level of knowledge among study participants was good 84(47.5%). Sexual orientation, having a history of drug abuse and being un-employed were significant predictors to the prevalence of hepatitis B among injecting drug users in this study. Cultural practices such as piercing and tattooing which were observed among study participants were established barriers that increase the likelihood of Hepatitis B among people who inject drugs. Moreover, bivariate analysis on social barriers particularly on the past experience with drug misuse was strongly associated to prevalence of HBV (χ²=2.485, df=1, p=0.046). The respondent's occupation χ²==8.479, df=1, p=0.014 and sexual preference B χ²=42.865, df=2, p=0.001 were also associated with the prevalence of HBV. Hence, the study recommends that there is need for the County government of Mombasa through department of Health to continuously scale-up screening services among IDUs through its harm reduction programme. Health facility managers and health personnel must be prepared to educate injecting drug users to identify signs and symptoms of Hepatitis B and encourage screening among IDUs who have not been screened. Lastly, the County Government needs to trace other injecting drug users in the community so as to embrace harm reduction interventions | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/29910 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Barriers to Effective Management of Hepatitis B Infection among Injecting Drug Users Seeking Care in Selected Treatment Centres, Mombasa County, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |