An Institutional Review of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Medical Students Regarding Hepatitis B and C: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis is a major health issue. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of medical students regarding hepatitis B and C. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from March, 2018 to May, 2018. 310 medical students from Allama Iqbal Medical College participated. KAP towards Hepatitis B and C was assessed by using a pre-validated questionnaire. Association of gender and year of study was established with KAP of respondents. Also, associations of knowledge with attitude and practices were also established using Chi-square test taking ≤0.05 as standard p-value. SPSS version 21.0 was used. Results: 269 (86.77%) out of 310 distributed questionnaires were received. 116 (43.1%) respondents fell in age group 16-20, 150 (55.8%) in 21-25 years while 3 respondents (1.1%) were 25 year and above. 146 (54.3%) respondents were females and 123 (45.7) respondents were male. There were 54 (20.1%) respondents from first year, 59 (21.9%) respondents from second year, 53 (19.7%) respondents from third year, 55 (20.4%) respondents from fourth year and 48 (17.8%) respondents from final year. 132 (90.4%) female respondents and 98 (79.7%) male respondents had good knowledge regarding hepatitis B and C. No significant relationship was established between gender of respondents with their attitude and practices. As for relationship of knowledge of respondents with their attitude and practices, no significant association could be established. Conclusion: Overall, the medical students have adequate knowledge, sensible attitude but unsatisfactory practices in regards to Hepatitis B and C.