Knowledge, attitude and practices toward prevention of Hepatitis B Virus infection among medical students: A cross-sectional study
Madhurya H Sachidananda, T A Dhanalakshmi, D Venkatesha
Keywords :
Hepatitis B, knowledge, attitude and practice, medical students, vaccination
Citation Information :
Sachidananda MH, Dhanalakshmi TA, Venkatesha D. Knowledge, attitude and practices toward prevention of Hepatitis B Virus infection among medical students: A cross-sectional study. 2022; 24 (1):8-11.
CONTEXT: A critical level of knowledge and awareness about hepatitis B infection and its prevention among the medical students is essential to decrease the burden of occupationally acquired hepatitis B infection.
AIM: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) among medical students toward HBV infection and its prevention.
SETTING AND STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study done in a rural medical college.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Written informed consent and Institutional Ethical Committee clearance were taken. Study included 403 randomly selected medical students. Self-administered pre-tested and pre-validated questionnaire containing KAPs items was used as study tool. The responses were recorded in terms of agree, disagree, not sure, yes and no formats.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data are expressed in frequencies and percentages.
RESULTS: Majority of students were aware of modes of transmission of HBV infection (67%–91%). Only 28.5% of participants agreed that hepatitis B vaccine is used for post-exposure prophylaxis. They had good attitude toward preventive aspects of hepatitis B infection (71%–96.3%). Only 52.9% had taken three doses of hepatitis B vaccination and only 4% of them got tested for antibodies titre post-vaccination.
CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated gap in the knowledge and practice. This gap should be addressed by implementation of orientation programmes on HBV and mandatory vaccination of medical students at the time of entry to the institution.
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