| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatitis B is an important public health problem; although it is often
asymptomatic initially, the long-term complications include cirrhosis and hepatic cancer,
diseases that kill about a million people worldwide each year. Sexually Transmitted Infections
(STIs) like hepatitis B are usually concentrated in core groups, such as female sex workers
(FSWs). who have a high number of partners and receive poor health care. Hepatitis B is a
common infection that is often asymptomatic and can have chronic and serious outcomes,
including chronic hepatitis, fulminant liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (NICE, 2016.
This study is about assessing the uptake of Hepatitis B services among female sex workers in
Masaka
Overall Objective: To assess the uptake of hepatitis b services among female sex workers in
Masaka Municipality.
Specific Objectives were: To determine the proportion of female sex workers accessing
Hepatitis B services; To establish the individual attributes of the female sex workers seeking
Hepatitis B services; To determine the level of susceptibility on Hepatitis B virus among female
sex workers and to determine the health services factors influencing uptake of Hepatitis B
services in Masaka Municipality
Methodology
:A quantitative, descriptive cross sectional study design was used to investigate uptake of the
Hepatitis B services among female sex workers in Masaka Municipality. The design sought to
describe the current status of an identified variable or phenomenon. The sampling procedure that
was used consisted of mapping of the hot spots for female sex workers and This was followed
by Snow balling where the first participant interviewed was asked to identify other potential
respondents. The total sample size was 138 Participants was recruited using the respondent-
driven sampling technique, which has been shown to be reliable for conducting studies in hard
to reach groups and samples (Wejnert, 2009). Mapping was done to identify FSW sites and the
hangouts were clearly marked out. Data was collected using structured researcher-administered
questionnaire was used to obtain information on respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics,
knowledge of HVB infection, risk perception and Hepatitis B vaccination status. It was analysed
using univariate, bivariate and multivariate levels.
Results
:The results in this study showed that uptake of Hepatitis B services was low at only a paltry 27%
(29.7) among the respondents in in the study area had ever been screened and received a test
result (negative or positive). Amongst these, 23.6% (25.9) had tested negative while 3.6% (3.9)
had tested positive whereas only one did not know here results. All individual attributes of the
female sex workers did not have a significant relationship with the uptake of Hepatitis B
services. The Bivariate analysis for the relationships between baseline characteristics and uptake
of hepatitis screening services showed that age (p = 0.118), education status (p = 0.184), marital
status (p = 0.699), religious affiliation (p = 0.738), and income level (p = 0.438) did not have a
xsignificant relationship with the uptake of Hepatitis B services uptake among female sex
workers.
This study found significant relationships between level of susceptibility on Hepatitis B virus
among female sex workers in Masaka Municipality. These were: HCW having ever heard about
Hepatitis B infection (χ2 = 10.905, P value = 0.001*) at 0.05 confidence level. There was also a
significant association with the modes of transmission noted such as shaking hands (χ2 = 4.551,
P value = 0.033*); sexual contact with infected person (χ2 = 19.606; P value = 0.000) and other
factors (χ2 = 8.142 and P value = 0.004*) at 0.05 confidence level.
Conclusions: the uptake of Hepatitis B services among female sex workers is low at 27%. All
individual attributes of the female sex workers did not have a significant relationship with the
uptake of Hepatitis B services. This study established a significant relationship between level of
susceptibility on Hepatitis B virus among female sex workers. Finally, there was a significant
association between uptake of Hepatitis B among the female sex workers and location of these
services, privacy and confidentiality, transport costs and presence of outreach clinics | en_US |
