A comparative cross sectional study of awareness and practice among medical and dental students regarding hepatitis b infection and prevention

Introduction: Hepatitis implies injury to the liver by inflammatory cells. Most cases of hepatitis are caused by viruses, predominantly the hepatitis B. The risk of occupational exposure to HBV especially among students in health professions is a major concern. Awareness regarding this serious preventable disease was lacking among them. This study was conducted to assess the level of awareness and practice among medical and dental students regarding hepatitis B infection and prevention. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from 1st Feb 2014 to 30th April 2014. 352 medical students and 269 dental students were included. Data were collected by self-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed by using EPI INFO 3.5.1. Results: Response of students regarding transmission, hepatitis B was transmitted by sex (84.4%), contaminated blood &body fluid (90%) and by unsterilized syringes, needles and surgical instruments (96.4%). Regarding diagnosis, treatment & PEP –96.6% said hepatitis B was diagnosed by hepatitis markers test, 89.5% said that vaccination was the choice for treatment of hepatitis B, 95.8% said that vaccination was main source of post exposure prophylaxis and 93% said that HBIg was used for post exposure prophylaxis. Good knowledge score was significantly higher among female students (p = 0.042), intern (p =0.047), fully vaccinated students (p =0.002) and medical students (p = 0.047). Conclusion: This study showed that overall awareness regarding hepatitis B was quite good among students but there was a gap in practice as 45.4% students were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against Hepatitis B. So we recommend that all students in the health profession should be vaccinated prior to their entry into professional practices.