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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2019; 9(02): 43-47
DOI: 10.4103/AJM.AJM_164_18
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Hepatitis B: Knowledge and awareness among preclinical year medical students

Mohan B Sannathimmappa
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Sohar Campus, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman
,
Vinod Nambiar
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Sohar Campus, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman
,
Rajeev Arvindakshan
Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Background and Objective: Hepatitis B is an occupational health hazard to health-care workers. The complete knowledge of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission and prevention is indispensable for medical students. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B among preclinical year medical students.Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A predesigned self-administered questionnaire concerning hepatitis B knowledge and awareness was distributed to all the preclinical year medical students. The data were collected, tabulated, and analyzed by Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 22. The results were expressed in numbers and percentages.Results: Of 251 students, only 132 students voluntarily participated in the study. Majority of the students (84.8%) were aware of HBV infection. Many students knew that blood transfusion (81.1%) and use of contaminated needles and syringes (74.2%) are major modes of transmission. However, less than 30% of the students had knowledge about other modes of transmission. More than 50% of the students lacked in their knowledge about clinical features and complications of hepatitis B infection. Majority of students (72.7%) were aware of HBV vaccination. However, many students did not know their vaccination status, whereas only 23.5% of the students were fully immunized.Conclusion: This study revealed lack of complete knowledge regarding hepatitis B among preclinical year medical students. They are at high risk of acquiring HBV infection during their clinical practice, later in life. Hence, implementation of well-structured education program in the first year itself is needed to create complete awareness among medical students about hepatitis B.

Keywords

Blood transfusion - cirrhosis - jaundice - liver cancer - vaccination


Publication History

Article published online:
09 August 2021

© 2019. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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