Findings from a hepatitis B birth dose assessment in health facilities in the Philippines: opportunities to engage the private sector

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Vaccine
• Personal Author:
  Patel, Minal K. ; Capeding, Rosario Z. ; Ducusin, Joyce U. ; de Quiroz Castro, Maricel ; Garcia, Luzviminda C. ; Hennessey, Karen
• Description:
  Background
  
  Hepatitis B vaccination in the Philippines was introduced in 1992 to reduce the high burden of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the population; in 2007, a birth dose (HepB-BD) was introduced to decrease perinatal HBV transmission. Timely HepB-BD coverage, defined as doses given within 24 hours of birth, was 40% nationally in 2011. A first step in improving timely HepB-BD coverage is to ensure that all newborns born in health facilities are vaccinated.
  
  Methods
  
  In order to assess ways of improving the Philippines’ HepB-BD program, we evaluated knowledge, attitudes, and practices surrounding HepB-BD administration in health facilities. Teams visited selected government clinics, government hospitals, and private hospitals in regions with low reported HepB-BD coverage and interviewed immunization and maternity staff. HepB-BD coverage was calculated in each facility for a 3 month period in 2011.
  
  Results
  
  Of the 142 health facilities visited, 12 (8%) did not provide HepB-BD; seven were private hospitals and five were government hospitals. Median timely HepB-BD coverage was 90% (IQR 80%–100%) among government clinics, 87% (IQR 50%–97%) among government hospitals, and 50% (IQR 0%–90%) among private hospitals (p=0.02). The private hospitals were least likely to receive supervision (53% versus 6%–31%, p=0.0005) and to report vaccination data to the national Expanded Programme on Immunization (36% vs. 96%–100%, p<0.0001).
  
  Conclusions
  
  Private sector hospitals in the Philippines, which deliver 18% of newborns, had the lowest timely HepB-BD coverage. Multiple avenues exist to engage the private sector in hepatitis B prevention including through existing laws, newborn health initiatives, hospital accreditation processes, and raising awareness of the government’s free vaccine program.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Article Birth Dose Hepatitis B Hepatitis B Vaccine Hepatitis B Vaccines Hospitals, Private Hospitals, State Humans Immunization Programs Infant, Newborn Perinatal Transmission Philippines Private Hospitals Vaccination

  More +
• Source:
  Vaccine. 32(39):5140-5144.
• Pubmed ID:
  24361121
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4663669
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  32
• Issue:
  39
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:573acd3e2e292b9372ff7615325bccf71055412025182894f59326b1ea311557
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/36714/cdc_36714_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 209.66 KB ]