The level of knowledge and attitudes of university students about hepatitis B

Aim: Hepatitis B infection is an important health problem worldwide. Therefore, increasing students? knowledge and positive attitudes about Hepatitis B will help to protect and improve the public health. It is a descriptive study which aims to determine the level of knowledge and attitudes of university students about Hepatitis B. Method: The research was conducted between March 2008 and June 2008 on 626 university students. The study was approved by the university administrations. A verbal informed consent was obtained from the students. The data were gathered using a questionnaire. Data were analysed using the SPSS (version 11.5) program. Results: The average age of sample was 20.28±1.84 (Range:17-33). The level of knowledge about Hepatitis B was moderate [x±sd: 23.53±10.11 (Range: 0-41)]. Students studying nursing, those vaccinated against hepatitis B, those reported to take precautions for Hepatitis B contamination had higher scores of knowledge about Hepatitis B. A total of 39.5% (n=247) of the students were vaccinated against Hepatitis B. One third of the sample (32.3%, n=202) were afraid of Hepatitis B, 17.6% (n=110) reported that they avoid as mush as possible any interaction with people infected with Hepatitis B virus. Only 27.8% (n=174) do not have any concern about Hepatitis B virus contamination since they knew about the path of infection and took the necessary precautions, 83.4% of the sample (n=522) reported to be very careful and to take precautions in order to prevent contamination with Hepatitis B virus during incisions. Conclusion: In order to increase the awareness and to promote Hepatitis B vaccination among university students, it is crucial to increase the knowledge about Hepatitis B through education and providing counseling services.