National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Health care personnel especially medical students represent high risk population for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study sought to assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards hepatitis B infection and its transmission and prevention. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 medical students at Tirunelveli Medical College. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. In addition to basic demographic characteristics, the questionnaire included 18 questions about routes and modes of transmission, sequel and prevention of HBV. The students were also asked about their vaccination status. A high proportion of the study participants (72%) had good knowledge about HBV while 28% had acceptable knowledge. Good knowledge score was significantly higher among clinical year students (p< 0.005). Only 57% of them were vaccinated against HBV. The vaccination rate was same among pre-clinical year students (57%) and clinical year students (57%) (p = 1.0). The vaccination rate was highest among those who had good knowledge (59%), in comparison to those with acceptable knowledge (52%), (p < 0.353). Knowledge about HBV among the medical students at Tirunelveli Medical College is relatively good, with important gaps which need to be filled. A critical level of public awareness and vaccination coverage, particularly among pre-clinical year students, are essential to decrease burden of the disease in the future.
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