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Abstract
Background
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). The purpose of this study was to investigate the HAV vaccination status and related factors among college students.
Methods
The study subjects were 503 students conveniently sampled from C university located in one district of Jeollanamdo. General characteristics and HAV vaccination related factors were collected by a self-reported questionnaire in October 2013. Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate related factors with HAV vaccination.
Results
Of the 503 subjects without a history of HAV infection, 65 subjects (12.9%) reported that they were vaccinated. In multiple analyses, subjects who have had health screening (adjusted odds ratio, aOR=2.44 and 95% confidence interval, 95% CI=1.26–4.73) and those who were aware of HAV infection (aOR=6.00, 95% CI=1.81–19.91) or who perceived the benefits of HAV vaccine (aOR=2.05, 95% CI=1.07–3.93) were more likely to be vaccinated than those not involved in these factors. With regard to intention for HAV vaccine, 314 subjects (71.9%) reported that they have the intention to be vaccinated against HAV. In multiple analyses, higher grade level, high monthly allowance, awareness of HAV vaccine, perceived susceptibility of HAV, perceived seriousness of HAV and perceived benefits of HAV vaccine were significantly associated with the intention for HAV vaccination.
References
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Table 1.
General characteristics of study participants
| Characteristics | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 252 (50.1) |
| Female | 251 (49.9) |
| Major | |
| Health care related group | 245 (48.7) |
| Non-health care related group | 258 (51.3) |
| Grade levela | |
| 1 | 204 (40.6) |
| 2 | 103 (20.5) |
| 3 | 123 (24.5) |
| 4 | 73 (14.5) |
| Monthly allowance, Korean Won | |
| ≤200,000 | 178 (35.4) |
| 210,000 to 300,000 | 183 (36.4) |
| ≥310,000 | 142 (28.2) |
| School recordb | |
| High | 136 (27.1) |
| Middle | 265 (52.8) |
| Low | 101 (20.1) |
| Father's education level | |
| ≤Middle school | 67 (13.3) |
| High school | 271 (53.9) |
| ≤College | 165 (32.8) |
| Mother's education level | |
| ≤Middle school | 68 (13.5) |
| High school | 306 (60.8) |
| ≤College | 129 (25.7) |
| Frequency of alcohol usea | |
| None | 40 (8.0) |
| <1/month | 121 (24.1) |
| ≥1/month | 342 (68.0) |
| Smoking statusa | |
| Never smoker | 353 (70.2) |
| Ex-smoker | 30 (6.0) |
| Current smoker | 120 (23.9) |
| Family history of liver disease | |
| No | 443 (88.1) |
| Yes | 60 (11.9) |
| Health screening | |
| Yes | 319 (63.4) |
| No | 184 (36.6) |
| Private insurance | |
| Yes | 445 (88.5) |
| No | 58 (11.5) |
Table 2.
HAV awareness and vaccination statusa
| HAV awareness among all subjects | N=503 |
|
[Awareness] Have you heard about HAV infection?b Yes No |
381 (75.8) 122 (24.3) |
|
[Awareness] Have you heard about HAV vaccine? Yes No |
354 (70.4) 149 (29.6) |
|
[Perceived susceptibility] Do you think you can be easily infected with HAV? Yes No |
355 (70.6) 148 (29.4) |
|
[Perceived seriousness] Do you think HAV infection is a serious disease? Yes No |
250 (49.7) 253 (50.3) |
|
[Perceived benefits] Do you think HAV infection is preventable after HAV vaccination? Yes No |
336 (66.8) 167 (33.2) |
|
HAV vaccination Yes No Do not know |
65 (12.9) 207 (41.2) 231 (45.9) |
| Characteristics related to HAV vaccination | N=65 |
| First vaccination age, yb | 17.8±5.2 |
|
≤9 10 to 19 ≥20 |
5 (8.1) 19 (30.7) 38 (61.3) |
| Second vaccination age, yb | 18.1±5.3 |
|
≤9 10 to 19 ≥20 |
4 (8.2) 14 (28.6) 31 (63.3) |
| Time interval between 1st and 2nd vaccination, monb | |
|
<6 6 to 12 ≥13 |
12 (19.4) 32 (51.6) 5 (8.1) |
|
Did not receive second vaccination Place of vaccination |
13 (21.0) |
|
Community health center Local hospital/clinic General hospital Others |
14 (22.6) 37 (59.7) 5 (8.1) 6 (9.7) |
|
Reason for vaccinationb Self-decision Family opinion Health professional recommendation Others |
19 (30.7) 27 (43.6) 8 (12.9) 8 (12.9) |
| Characteristics of HAV unvaccinated subjects | N=437 |
| Perceived reason for not having HAV vaccinationsb | |
|
Didn't know about vaccine No need for vaccine No time High cost Afraid of injection Unconvinced about efficacy of vaccine Afraid of side-effects Others |
152 (34.8) 98 (22.4) 61 (14.0) 39 (8.9) 27 (6.2) 7 (1.6) 6 (1.4) 47 (10.8) |
|
Perceived facilitators to future HAV vaccine uptakeb Health professional recommendation Useful information about vaccination Reduction of vaccination cost Plenty of time Other vaccination methods such as oral pills except injection Single shot vaccine without second dose Others |
118 (27.1) 85 (19.5) 85 (19.5) 52 (11.9) 46 (10.6) 34 (7.8) 16 (3.7) |
|
Intention for HAV vaccinationb Yes No |
314 (71.9) 123 (28.2) |
Table 3.
Proportion of vaccination and intention by subject's characteristics
| Vaccination (n=503) | Intention (n=437) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | Pa | N (%) | Pa | |
| Sex | 0.005 | 0.009 | ||
|
Male Female |
22 (8.7) 43 (17.1) |
153 (66.5) 161 (77.8) |
||
| Major | 0.001 | 0.119 | ||
|
Health care related group Non-health care related group |
44 (18.0) 21 (8.1) |
151 (75.5) 163 (68.8) |
||
| Grade level | 0.070 | 0.001 | ||
|
1 2 3 4 |
19 (9.3) 11 (10.7) 22 (17.9) 13 (17.8) |
120 (64.9) 62 (67.4) 79 (79.0) 53 (88.3) |
||
| Monthly allowance, Korean Won | 0.149 | 0.006 | ||
|
≤200,000 210,000 to 300,000 ≥310,000 |
16 (9.0) 28 (15.3) 21 (14.8) |
107 (66.1) 125 (81.2) 82 (67.8) |
||
| School record | 0.950 | 0.972 | ||
|
High Middle Low |
17 (12.5) 34 (12.8) 14 (13.9) |
86 (72.3) 164 (71.3) 63 (72.4) |
||
| Father's education level | 0.325 | 0.967 | ||
|
≤Middle school High school ≥College |
6 (9.0) 33 (12.2) 26 (15.8) |
43 (70.5) 171 (72.2) 100 (71.9) |
||
| Mother's education level | 0.206 | 0.125 | ||
|
≤Middle school High school ≥College |
6 (8.8) 37 (12.1) 22 (17.1) |
39 (62.9) 201 (75.0) 74 (69.2) |
||
| Frequency of alcohol use | 0.196 | 0.986 | ||
|
None <1/month ≥1/month |
6 (15.0) 21 (17.4) 38 (11.1) |
24 (70.6) 72 (72.0) 218 (72.0) |
||
| Smoking status | 0.547 | 0.912 | ||
|
Never smoker Ex-smoker Current smoker |
48 (13.6) 2 (6.7) 15 (12.5) |
217 (71.4) 21 (75.0) 76 (72.4) |
||
| Family history of liver disease | 0.082 | 0.393 | ||
|
No Yes |
53 (12.0) 12 (20.0) |
277 (71.2) 37 (77.1) |
||
| Health screening | 0.007 | 0.119 | ||
|
Yes No |
51 (16.0) 14 (7.6) |
199 (74.5) 115 (67.7) |
||
| Private insurance | 0.834 | 0.048 | ||
|
Yes No |
57 (12.8) 8 (13.8) |
284 (73.4) 30 (60.0) |
||
| Awareness of HAV infection | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
|
Yes No |
62 (16.3) 3 (2.5) |
246 (77.4) 68 (57.1) |
||
| Awareness of HAV vaccine | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
|
Yes No |
64 (18.1) 1 (0.7) |
230 (79.6) 84 (56.8) |
||
| Perceived susceptibility of HAV | 0.362 | <0.001 | ||
|
Yes No |
49 (13.8) 16 (10.8) |
238 (78.0) 76 (57.6) |
||
| Perceived seriousness of HAV | 0.130 | <0.001 | ||
|
Yes No |
38 (15.2) 27 (10.7) |
171 (80.7) 143 (63.6) |
||
| Perceived benefits of HAV vaccine | 0.032 | 0.067 | ||
|
Yes No |
51 (15.2) 14 (8.4) |
213 (74.7) 101 (66.5) |
||
Table 4.
Adjusted odds ratios for HAV vaccination and intentions
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