Effect of Public Health Campaigns on Awareness and Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccine in Africa: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection remains a major public health challenge in Africa, contributing substantially to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although effective vaccines exist, coverage, particularly for the hepatitis B birth dose, remains suboptimal due to low awareness, stigma, and health-system barriers. The effectiveness of public health in improving knowledge and vaccine uptake across African settings has not been comprehensively synthesised. This review aimed to map and synthesise evidence on the effects of public health campaigns on hepatitis B vaccine awareness, intention, uptake, completion, and timeliness in Africa.

Synthesis: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Searches were performed in PubMed/Medline, PMC, Scopus, Web of Science, BMC, BMJ Open, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, Frontiers, and Google Scholar, as well as key grey-literature sources. Studies published in English between 2015 and 2025 that evaluated public health campaigns or communication-based interventions promoting HBV vaccination in African populations were included. Data were charted and synthesised narratively by campaign modality, target population, and outcomes.

Thirteen studies from African countries met the inclusion criteria. Campaigns used community mobilisation, mass media, school-based education, peer-led outreach, and health-facility-based communication. Target populations included the general public, pregnant women and newborns, healthcare workers, and high-risk community groups. Most campaigns reported improvements in HBV knowledge and awareness, with increased intention to vaccinate. Several interventions also achieved higher vaccination uptake, better series completion, and improved timeliness of the hepatitis B birth dose. Community-engaged and culturally tailored campaigns were particularly effective in increasing trust and acceptance, while birth-dose advocacy programmes strengthened early infant protection. However, vaccine supply constraints, health-system capacity, misinformation, and stigma limited overall impact in some settings. Few studies employed rigorous designs to measure causal effects on vaccination uptake directly.

Conclusion: Public health campaigns can substantially improve hepatitis B vaccine awareness and uptake in Africa, especially when community engagement is integrated with accessible vaccination services and birth-dose delivery systems. Strengthening health-system readiness, ensuring timely birth-dose availability, and improving monitoring of vaccine completion are essential to maximise campaign impact. More robust evaluation designs are needed to guide scale-up and support Africa’s progress toward hepatitis B elimination.