Osama Habib, Abdul Rauf, Fahmina Ashfaq, Aniqa Anser, Muhammad Atif Qureshi, Taj Jamshad, Muhammad Akbar Chaudhary.
Does Unrealistic Optimism Contribute to Low Hepatitis B Vaccination Rates among Healthcare Workers and Medical Students?.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;5(2):51-5.

Objective: This study aims to determine the role of unrealistic optimism in the development of attitudes towards hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers (HCWs) and medical students. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, survey-based descriptive study conducted at the Medicine Department of Azra Naheed Medical College, Lahore. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was developed that enquired from the participants their vaccination status and the main reason(s) for not getting vaccinated. Informed consent was received from all the study participants and the confidentiality of the data was ensured. Formal approval for the study was granted by the Ethical Review Board of Azra Naheed Medical College, Lahore. The questionnaire was completed by 325 HCWs and medical students working and studying at Azra Naheed Medical College and its affiliated hospital, Chaudhry M. Akram Teaching & Research Hospital. Five options that signaled an attitude of unrealistic optimism were included in the questionnaire and a participant was considered to exhibit unrealistic optimism if they chose one of these five reasons for not getting vaccinated. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: Out of 325 respondents, 143(44%) had received hepatitis B vaccination, 155(46.7%) were not vaccinated for hepatitis B while 27(8.3%) individuals were not sure whether they were vaccinated or not. The three most common reasons for not getting vaccinated were never felt the need to be vaccinated (44.9%), never thought about getting vaccinated (44%) and lack of motivation (40.5%). Nearly three fourth of the respondents, 115(74.2%) out of 155 exhibited unrealistic optimism for non-vaccination whereas the number of respondents who did not show an unrealistic optimism attitude was 40/155 (25.8%). Conclusion: Unrealistic optimism among healthcare workers and medical students appears to be one of the main psychological factors responsible for low rates of vaccination against hepatitis B. Medical students and HCWs should be made aware of the high risk and prevalence of needlestick injuries and the urgent need for vaccination against hepatitis B. They should be educated about the various self-serving biases, including unrealistic optimism in the curriculum. Keywords: Unrealistic optimism. Hepatitis B vaccination. Healthcare workers. Medical students.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com