Parents' Attitude about Hepatitis B Disease and Practice of Hepatitis B Vaccination among Children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

INTRODUCTION: The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Vietnam for hepatitis B (HepB) among infants has been implemented since 2003. The rates of the birth dose (babies receiving HepB immunization injection within 24 hours after birth) and the later three-dose series were low in 2013-2014. OBJECTIVE: This article evaluated attitudes about the hepatitis B disease and vaccine in relation to the correct practice of vaccination among mothers of 12–24-month-old children in Ho Chi Minh City. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The parents of 768 children aged 12 to 24 months, in Ho Chi Minh City, were interviewed and reviewed their vaccination cards from February 2016 to July 2017. RESULTS: A total of 768 children had parents of a mean age of 30.8 years, approximately 34% of the children with a mean age of 16.8 months completed all four doses of the hepatitis B vaccine in a timely manner according to the EPI, and only 45.2% of children received the birth dose on schedule within 24 hours. The mother's fears of HepB risk in the community, living in rural areas, and receiving vaccination information from health workers increased the odds of complete and timely HepB vaccination (all p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A high rate of children did not receive a complete and timely HepB vaccination in the EPI. Health information strategies should be designed to target urban people and focus on safety of the vaccine, by health workers, to increase the correct practices of hepatitis B vaccination, including the birth dose, and provide education programs that emphasize the high risk for getting hepatitis B.