Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice about Hepatitis B among medical students in an urban area of Kanchipuram: A cross sectional study

Background: Hepatitis B is a global public health problem that causes chronic liver disease and death due to Cirrhosis of liver and Hepatocellular carcinoma. Prevalence of Hepatitis B is increasing in developing countries and there is a paucity of information among medical students regarding its transmission and vaccination. Scientific knowledge regarding the same is necessary for medical students for taking protective measures as Hepatitis B is highly communicable. Aim and objectives: To evaluate Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among medical students towards HBV and correlate the level of awareness with the attitude they behold towards the disease, its transmission and prevention and to determine the vaccination status for Hepatitis B among medical students. Materials and methods: Cross sectional study where a total of 200 subjects including House surgeons were interviewed using a validated structured questionnaire Results: A total of 145 (72.5%) students were completely vaccinated with HBV vaccine. Among these, preclinical students were 76 (38 %) and clinical 69 (34.5%) in number. Around 96(48%) students felt they would not get Hepatitis B infection while 26(13%) thought Hepatitis B is self-curable by the body. Students having good knowledge regarding HBV were 86 (43%), good attitude towards HBV were 125 (62.5%) and 145 (72.5%) followed good practice for HBV prevention. Conclusion: This study showed fairly moderate outcomes with important gaps. Lack of vaccination of all the students makes them vulnerable to liver disease. It is mandatory that they be fully vaccinated prior to their entry into professional practice. In spite of having good knowledge, their practice for prevention was not satisfactory.