Factors Influencing Adherence to a Hepatitis B Preventive Recommendation

Nonadherence to medical preventive and treatment recommendations is a problem with significant implicationsfor health and for the utilization of increasingly costly health care resources. Although individuals in health related occupations constitute a high risk group for hepatitis B infection, adherence to recommendations concerning the hepatitis B vaccine has not been as great as initially expected. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors influencing adherence among health profession students to a recommendation to receive the hepatitis B vaccine. Individuals who received and who did not receive the hepatitis B vaccine responded to items assessing the perceived seriousness of hepatitis B, perceived susceptibility to hepatitis B infection, and knowledge of hepatitis B. A discriminant analysis procedure using these variables failed to discriminate between vaccine recipients and nonrecipients. Nonrecipients of the vaccine also responded to additional items requesting information about otherfactors influencing their decision not to receive the vaccine. Results indicated that the cost of the vaccine and concern over thepossibility of side effects (e.g., AIDS, Guillain-Barre syndrome) were influentialfactors in the decision not to adhere to the recommended health protective action.