ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To analyze the vaccination status and knowledge on hepatitis B virus of healthcare workers (HW) from a public hospital. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, based on a written questionnaire answered by HW, which included biomedical personnel, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, physicians, nurse assistants, and lab technicians. They informed about their age, profession, immunization status and knowledge on hepatitis B. Chi-square test was used, considering p < 0.05 as statistically significant. RESULTS: During four months in 2007, questionnaires were filled by 861 professionals from the main public emergency hospital in Sergipe State, Northeastern region of Brazil. There was a statistically significant relationship between educational level and HW's previous knowledge on hepatitis B. As for the vaccination status, 67% of the HW reported being fully immunized, while 21.6% had not taken all the vaccines, 6.2% was unaware of their status, and 5.2% was not vaccinated. Among university level HW 75.3% was fully immunized, while 64,5% of high-school-level technicians was. CONCLUSION: University degree HW showed a greater knowledge on the subject when compared to technicians, results that should motivate managers in healthcare to implement continuing education for their personnel as well as research about this topic.
immunization status; healthcare workers; hepatitis B
