Factors associated with knowledge, attitude and practice towards hepatitis B infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana: a multi-centre hospital-based cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis-B Virus (HBV) is endemic in Ghana and mother-to-child transmission has been adjudged the common contributing factor. Therefore, this study examined factors associated with the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pregnant women towards HBV infection within the Kumasi Metropolis. METHODS: a hospital-based cross-sectional study design with a multistage random sampling was used to select 362 pregnant women from four major health facilities; Suntreso, Tafo, Manhyia and Kumasi South hospitals in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. The pregnant women were made to complete a structured questionnaire composed of socio-demographic characteristics, as well as questions on knowledge, attitude and practices on HBV infection. RESULTS: majority of the pregnant women 314/362 (86.7%) had adequate knowledge of HBV infections. Also, 236/362 (65.2%) of them had positive attitudes whereas 217/362 (~60%) had good practices towards HBV infections. Respondents with no formal education were less likely to have adequate knowledge of HBV infection (OR (95% CI): 0.27 (0.11-0.65)), whereas pregnant women with tertiary education were 5.8 times more likely to have adequate knowledge on HBV (p-value 0.05). CONCLUSION: pregnant women in the Kumasi Metropolis have adequate knowledge of HBV infection and its transmission mechanisms, but do not translate this into practice (do not adhere to preventive practices).