A preventive practice and its educational role with an academic community of Dentistry

Resumen

The study aimed to verify the adherence of undergraduate Dentistry students to the hepatitis B and tetanus vaccination campaign in a private Dental school. The hypothesis tested was that the vaccination campaign would be an effective program in prevention of HBV and tetanus infection. The vaccination’s card copies and the Anti-HBs exam were analyzed as main outcome. Data were submitted to bivariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses (a<0.05). Age, admission year, studying shift, doses of hepatitis B and tetanus vaccinations were independent variables. Out of the 485 students, 318 delivered the vaccination’s card, and 295 presented the Anti-HBs exam. The median age of the students was 21 years (76.1% female and 23.9% male). In the univariate and multivariate Poisson regression model, failure to receive the tetanus vaccination was considered as a risk factor. Undergraduate students enrolled in the initial years were more likely to have not received the vaccination than the senior years (p ≤0.001). Out of the total number of students (318) who submitted the documentation for hepatitis B, 86.1% completed the vaccination protocol (3 doses), while 13.9% the incomplete protocol (1 or 2 doses). Older students were more likely to have refrained from taking the vaccinations compared to younger (p ≤ 0.001). In relation to the Anti-HBs, 73.9% had positive protective titer. Vaccination campaigns for undergraduate students may be effective if adherence of the individuals to the schedule can be ensured. Strategies for greater adherence of students, should be thought and planned by Dental Schools.