HEPATITIS B KNOWLEDGE AND PREVENTIVE PRACTICES AMONGST MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN ABIA STATE, SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a life-threatening communicable disease of public health importance. Risk factors in the transmission of Hepatitis B are from exposures to infected blood and body fluids. Medical students in training are at risk of contracting the disease during clinical rotations in the hospital. This study was therefore conducted to determine the knowledge and practice level of HBV among medical students in Abia state. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted to assess the knowledge and practice of prevention of hepatitis B infection among undergraduate medical students in Abia State University, Uturu. A total of 395 students participated in the study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Good knowledge was awarded for 70% of correct answers and poor knowledge for less than 70% correct answers. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: Generally, most of the students had adequate knowledge of Hepatitis B infection. Two hundred and ninety-nine (75.7%) respondents had a score of 70% and above. Regarding vaccination status, 145 (36.7%) had received HBV vaccine, 83 (21%) hadnt while 167 (42.3%) didnt know their vaccination status. Students in year 5 [136 (87.2%) had the highest knowledge score followed by students in year 4 [122 (70.5%)]. There was a statistical significant association between knowledge score of HBV and year of study. Conclusions: This study showed that there was high knowledge of HBV infection among the students but low practice level on measures to prevent spread of HBV infection.