Is the level of knowledge of healthcare workers about hepatitis A, B, C transmission routes sufficient?

Year 2022, Volume: 3 Issue: 3 - Experimental and Applied Medical Science Vol:3, Issue:3 [en], 375 - 383, 31.12.2022

Safiye Koçulu Demir , Özgür Önal , Hakan Kutlu , Adem Albayrak , Zuhal Yeşilbağ

Abstract

As with all infectious diseases, healthcare professionals should have sufficient knowledge to protect themselves, their colleagues and patients, and to inform patients and their relatives correctly about viral hepatitis. In this study, it was aimed to determine the level of knowledge about hepatitis A, B and C transmission routes of healthcare workers who are at high risk compared to the rest of the population. In this descriptive study, questionnaire was distributed to 600 people including employees and intern students. The data obtained from the questionnaire made by face-to-face interviews with 420 people who volunteered to participate in the research were evaluated in the study. In the survey study, the participants were asked a total of 66 questions, 22 in each area, to determine their level of knowledge about Hepatitis A, B and C. Participants were asked to mark one of the true/false/unknown option for the question specified in each item. Of the 420 people who participated in the survey, 345 (82.2%) were female and 75 (17.8%) were male, and the average age was found to be 30.05±10.51 years old. It was determined that the participants had an average of 5.44±5.65 years of work experience. As a result of the ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey test, it was determined that the hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C knowledge levels of the participants were statistically significantly different from each other. (mean±SD, respectively; 53.44±16.05, 68.22±20.6, 64.65±25.36) (p<0.001). In researches measuring the level of knowledge, deficiencies are determined and educational activities are shaped to eliminate these deficiencies. In our study, it was determined that the level of knowledge of HAV was especially lower in all participants compared to knowledge of HBV and HCV. For this reason, it is necessary to give priority to HBV and HCV in educational activities of HAV, which causes water and food-borne epidemics in cases such as earthquakes and disasters.

Keywords

Hepatitis, patient’s relatives, knowledge level, risk perceptions

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