Hepatitis B prevention practices and associated factors among medical and health sciences students at university of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia

It is estimated that more than 5 million people in Ethiopia are living with chronic Hepatitis B virus and only 41.54% of individuals had good practice towards hepatitis B virus infection prevention. There are research and methodological gap on the HBV infection prevention practices in the country. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess hepatitis B prevention practices and associated factors among medical and health sciences students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. An institution-based mixed-methods cross-sectional study was conducted among Medical and Health Sciences students at the University of Gondar from March to August 2025. Stratified sampling technique was used. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Furthermore, key informants interview guides were used to collect qualitative data among instructors and students at college of medicine and health science. The quantitative data were analyzed using STATA version 20. Bi-variable and multivariable analysis were performed to identify factors associated with practice towards HBV infection prevention. The qualitative data were analyzed by inductive thematic analysis. Among 666 participants, 51.8% (95% CI: 48.0, 55.6) of them had good HBV prevention practice. In multivariable analysis, being 20–24 years old was 2.54 times more likely to have good prevention practice compared to 25–29 age group (95% CI: 1.42–4.54, p = 0.002). Similarly, Physiotherapy student exhibited 5.41times more likely to adhere to preventive measures (95% CI: 1.78–16.42, p = 0.003) compared with other departments. Furthermore, Students with favorable attitude were 2.63 times more likely to have good practice compared to those with an unfavorable attitude (95% CI: 1.81–3.82, p = 0.000). Qualitative data from instructors highlighted inadequate awareness, personal protective equipment (PPE) and vaccine shortages, and gap between theory and practice. Student interviews revealed a strong reliance on traditional medicine which often superseded modern health care due to cultural beliefs and perceptions of faster healing. The study revealed that knowledge, attitude and practice regarding HBV prevention practice is low among medical and health science students. Thus, we suggest that the University and Ministry of Health needs to provide practical training, address (PPE) shortages, and bridge the theory-practice gaps, ensure HBV screening and vaccination for students, create culturally sensitive awareness campaign that may be involving the community.